Satellite Images Show Russia Moving Weapons From Syria (X image @ThrilledBe)

Damascus, Syria: Reportedly, Russia is moving a large amount of military equipment in Syria, indicating a preparation of partial withdrawal from one its close ally in the region. Satellite images reveal a build-up of military vehicles at a Russian-controlled port and airbase in western Syria, as per media report. Recent days also witnessed the arrival and departure of transport aircrafts.

Russia maintained a strong presence in Syria during the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Moscow helped al-Assad crack down the outbreak of 2011 civil war.

Extensive columns of Russian military trucks moving north towards these bases, said BBC. According to the Institute for the Study of War, the moving indicates preparations for a reduction or complete withdrawal of Russian forces from Damascus. The Washington-based think tank added that moving military vehicles to its bases may be a precautionary measure while Moscow negotiates with the new government in Damascus.

Two of the most significant bases of Russia are the port at Tartous, established by the Soviet Union in the 1970s and then expanded and modernised by Russia in 2012, and the airbase at Hmeimim, which has been operational since 2015 and was used to launch air strikes across Syria in support of Assad. Both the bases were considered as the key strategic bases for Russia which provided the country easier access to the Middle East, North Africa and the Mediterranean Sea.

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With the fall of Assad, questions started to emerge regarding Moscow’s future presence in Syria. The country is now seeking to negotiate with the newly formed government headed by HTS (Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham), which was branded as “terrorist organisation”.

Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said there have been “no final decisions” and that Russia was “in contact with representatives of the forces that now control the situation in [Syria]”, as quoted by BBC.

BBC Verify has been monitoring Hmeimim air base activity by using Planet Labs satellite imagery. There are signs of sustained activity, involving sizeable military transport planes. Two large Antonov An-124 aircraft, which may be used to move assets out of Syria, were seen at the base on Friday. They had left by Tuesday, but two large planes were again in the base by Wednesday morning.

Further imagery taken by Maxar Technologies on Sunday shows dozens of military vehicles parked at the airfield near a Russian-made Ilyushin Il-76 military transport plane, which could be used for evacuations.

One large Russian Antonov An-124 from Tuesday were spotted on plane tracking website Flightradar24. Its publicly available tracker showed it in Russian airspace, travelling in the direction of Syria. The flight then disappeared from Flightradar24 off the Syrian coast, west of Hmeimim air base. The disappearance is assumed to be due to the switching off of the flight’s public tracker. The flight was then seen heading towards north six hours later, said BBC Verify.

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It was also reported that last week, Russian warships had left the port at Tartous. According to analysts, the warships are being held at the international waters for the time being. White the vessels haven’t returned, more than 100 military vehicles have arrived at the base in recent days, satellite images show.