Russia’s military airbase in Syria came under drone attack on Tuesday in a major blow for the Kremlin.
The attack comes amid reports suggesting Moscow was approaching an agreement over the lease of the Khmeimim airfield with Syria’s new rulers.
Vladimir Putin is desperate to maintain control over the military base in Latakia, a key logistics point for its Africa operations.
A swarm of drones attacked the base in the early hours of Tuesday morning, triggering air defence systems.
Video of the attack posted to social media channels shows explosions in the night sky above the airbase.
In a post to his Telegram Channel, the Russian military blogger Oleg Blokhin said the attack started at 2.30am local time.
He wrote: “It was designated as ‘attack by ground enemy’. Pantsir started working almost immediately.
“Gunfire and explosions were heard. By 3.30am, the intensity of the gunfire had died down, although it was still going on.”
Blokhin blamed the attack on the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel group, whose leader Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa is serving as an interim president.
However, Russia’s Ministry of Defence has as yet failed to provide an official statement about the attack.
The Kremlin lost control of both the Khmeimim airfield and the naval base in Tartus, after the former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad was deposed by the rebels.
Assad has sought political asylum in Moscow, which supported his regime throughout the brutal Syrian civil war.
Sources told Bloomberg on Monday that Moscow was close to a deal with the new regime that would allow it to maintain some staff and equipment in the country.
One said the Kremlin was hopeful of retaining access to both the airfield and port.
In exchange, Moscow could help the new government counter the influence of both the Islamic State and Turkey.
The two military facilities have allowed Russia to project influence in Africa as well as the Middle East, and losing them would be a significant setback for the Kremlin.
