One month after the announcement that Russia’s bases in Syria would be “transferred” to Damascus, Russian military vessels have returned to the port of Tartus, exclusive images sourced by RFE/RL confirm.
A flotilla of three Russian logistics vessels escorted by a naval destroyer was first spotted steaming south off the coast of Spain in late August. The convoy’s stated destination was Egypt, but soon after passing through the Strait of Gibraltar the ships switched off their transponders to avoid being tracked.
Images obtained by RFE/RL made in early September confirm the flotilla recently docked in Syria’s port of Tartus to offload an unknown cargo. The previously unseen images appear to contradict official claims that the formerly Russian-controlled portion of the Tartus facility had been turned over to Syria for civilian use.
Ships visible in the Tartus images are the naval destroyer Admiral Levchenko, the Sparta, a military logistics vessel and the Akademik Pashin, a replenishment vessel designed for supplying other ships at sea. The fourth vessel of the flotilla, the oil tanker General Skobelev is not visible in the image.
The docking of Russian vessels backs up analyst assessments that cold geopolitical bargaining has enabled the Kremlin to hold onto its bases in Syria, even as official statements appear calibrated to suggest otherwise.
“Syria's new leadership needed things only Russia could offer,” Ruslan Trad, a Syria analyst told RFE/RL. Among other factors, Syria’s weapons stocks are largely Russian, and Damascus “needs to refill the warehouses,” Trad says.
Syria’s current president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, led a rebel group during the country's civil war that was frequently targeted by Russian bombers as the Kremlin attempted to prop up former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. In 2017, Moscow claimed to have wounded al-Sharaa in an air strike.
Assad was overthrown in December 2024 and Russian forces evacuating out of Syria at the time were pelted with rocks as they departed strongholds throughout the country.
In January 2025, Syria’s new authorities terminated Moscow’s 49-year lease on the northern section of the port reserved for Russian vessels.
“Overall, the Russians made a bad bet on Assad but then played their hand fairly well, and their Syrian enemies turned out to be very pragmatic,” Aron Lund, a Middle East analyst with the Swedish Defense Research Agency says.
“Russian oil and wheat has helped keep Syria afloat through economic turmoil" and "Russian UN votes have permitted the removal of Syria’s current leadership from UN terrorism lists. And of course Syrian cooperation has allowed Russia to maintain its bases,” Lund says, adding that the facilities “may now be operating in diminished form.”
Tartus is the only Russian naval base outside the former Soviet Union and is a key supply hub for the Kremlin’s military presence in Africa. Potential alternative facilities in Libya and Algeria have less developed infrastructure and would require complicated diplomatic arrangements, including with Turkey.
A June report by RFE/RL’s Russian Service showed the Khmeimim air base, Russia’s second major foothold in Syria, continues to be used by Russian Defense Ministry aircraft flying to Mali and other African countries. Russia’s Africa Corps is attempting to assist Mali’s military regain control of areas in the north of the country held by Tuareg rebels and jihadist groups.
Recent satellite images of the air base show major construction works under way at the base. Syria and Russia had claimed the Khmeimim base will host a “joint training and rehabilitation center."
