MOSCOW (Dispatches) – Russia appears to be packing up military equipment at a military air base in Syria, according to satellite images released by Maxar following the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad last weekend, Reuters reports.
The images taken on Friday show what appear to be at least two Antonov AN-124s, one of the world’s largest cargo planes, with their nose cones open at the Hmeimim air base in Syria’s coastal Latakia province.
“Two An-124 heavy transport aircraft are at the airfield—both with their nose cones lifted and prepared to load equipment/cargo,” Maxar said.
“Nearby, a Ka-52 attack helicopter is being dismantled and likely prepared for transport while elements of an S-400 air defenses unit are similarly preparing to depart from its previous deployment site at the air base.”
Russia’s naval base at Tartous, Russia’s only Mediterranean repair and replenishment hub, “remains largely unchanged since our 10 December imagery coverage with two frigates continuing to be observed offshore of Tartous,” Maxar said.
Britain’s Channel 4 news reported that it had seen a convoy of more than 150 Russian military vehicles moving along a road. Channel 4 said the Russian military was moving in good order and that it appeared there had been a deal struck to allow the Russians to exit Syria in an orderly fashion.
Russia’s Defence Ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
In a relevant development, Russian wheat supplies to Syria have been suspended because of uncertainty about the new government and payment delays, Russian and Syrian sources said on Friday, while two vessels carrying Russian wheat for Syria did not reach their destinations, Reuters reports.
Russia, the world’s largest wheat exporter, was a staunch supporter of Bashar al-Assad and supplied wheat to Syria through complex financial and logistical arrangements, circumventing Western sanctions imposed on both Syria and Russia.
A Russian source close to the government told Reuters supplies to Syria have been suspended because exporters are concerned by uncertainty over who will manage wheat imports on the Syrian side following the change of power in Damascus.
“I think no one would dare supply wheat to Syria under the current circumstances,” the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, told Reuters.
Shipping data shows one vessel, the “Mikhail Nenashev”, is anchored off the Syrian coast, while another, the “Alpha Hermes”, is heading towards the Egyptian port of Alexandria after remaining off the Syrian coast for several days.