Drone attack made on Russian air base in Syria

On the night of Feb. 18, the Khmeimim Air Base in Syria, which hosts the Russian Aerospace Forces aviation group, came under a drone attack. War correspondent Oleg Blokhin reported that combat readiness was announced at the base at 2:30 a.m. local time. “This was described as a ‘ground enemy attack.’ Almost immediately, the Pantsir system worked. Shots and explosions were heard,” Blokhin wrote.

“The incident once again proves that our bases in Syria will not be allowed to operate normally,” Blokhin said. He noted that the “provocation” could be plotted by the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham group, which overthrew Bashar al-Assad’s regime and took power in the country. After Assad fled to Russia, Moscow has been trying to negotiate with the new Syrian authorities to maintain its military presence at the Khmeimim Air Base and the naval base in Tartus. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syria’s interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa had their first phone conversation on Feb. 12. Putin confirmed Russia’s “constant readiness to assist in improving the social-economic situation in Syria.” Two days later, an aircraft carrying hundreds of billions of Syrian pounds landed at Damascus Airport.

As reported by Reuters, the aircraft came from Russia, which used to print currency for Syria during Assad’s regime. Reuters sources did not specify the reason for the cash transfer, but it may be an attempt by the Kremlin to provide financial assistance to the new Syrian regime.