Ukraine supplied Syrian rebels with drones and experienced operators in the weeks before they defeated Bashar al-Assad’s army, The Washington Post has reported.
David Ignatius, a Washington Post columnist, quoted “knowledgeable sources” that said 20 Ukrainian drone operators and 150 drones had been sent to the rebels.
“Ukraine’s motivation is obvious: facing a Russian onslaught inside their country, Ukrainian intelligence has looked for other fronts where it can bloody Russia’s nose and undermine its clients,” he said.
The claims cannot be independently verified but Ukrainian intervention against Russian allies in Syria would match a pattern.
Syrian rebels celebrated taking control of the city of Hama – Ugur Yildirim/Getty Images Europe
Ukraine has been arming rebels fighting Russian forces and its proxy allies in Africa for the past couple of years.
When a combined Jihadist and Tuareg group of fighters defeated a Malian-Russian convoy in the Sahara Desert in July, killing dozens of Russian mercenaries, the government in Mali was quick to blame Ukraine for helping the rebels, although this claim was never proved.
Ignatius said the Ukrainian drones and operators arrived in Idlib, Syria, four or five weeks ago, but only played a “modest role” in overthrowing Assad, who fled to Moscow on Sunday – marking the collapse of his 24-year blood-soaked reign.
Rebel forces celebrated the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Umayyad Square, Damascus – Ali Haj Suleiman/Getty Images
Syrians living in Turkey celebrated the fall of Assad from Istanbul – Burak Kara/Getty Images Europe
Russian forces helped Assad defeat Syrian rebels in 2015 by launching a massive carpet-bombing campaign on Aleppo. In return, Assad gave Putin an airbase and allowed him to strengthen Russia’s naval base in Syria.
This, Ignatius said, encouraged Ukraine to supply weapons and drones to Syria.
“It was notable as part of a broader Ukrainian effort to strike covertly at Russian operations in the Middle East, Africa and inside Russia itself,” he said.
Ukraine is considered to have developed one of the world’s most sophisticated military drone units in the world since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022.
A Ukrainian soldier carried a Furia drone near the frontline in Donetsk – Evgeniy Maloletka/AP
Despite some initial reports, rebel forces in Syria have not attacked the Russian bases with drones or artillery. The Kremlin has said it is negotiating safe passage for its forces in Syria. Satellite photographs have shown the Kremlin has evacuated its naval base in Syria entirely and almost all of its air base.
In his column, Ignatius said Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence unit has also openly discussed its operations in Syria. He referenced an article in the Kyiv Post from June quoting a GUR agent as saying that this year “Syrian rebels, supported by Ukrainian operatives, have inflicted numerous strikes on Russian military facilities”.
The rebels’ speedy advance on Damascus took Russia and its Iranian allies off-guard. Russian warplanes bombed rebel forces but failed to stop them marching into Damascus on Sunday after the collapse of Assad’s army.