Russia faces problems evacuating its soldiers from Syria, Ukraine's Intelligence
Photo: Russia has huge problems evacuating soldiers from Syria (illustration/Getty Images)
Hundreds of Russian soldiers cannot evacuate from Syria. They fear that they will be hit by fire on the road from the Homs province to the Hmeimim airbase, the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine reports.
"Some armed groups are taking advantage of the process of Russian withdrawal from Syria: they hang the Russian flag on their columns as cover for unimpeded movement, including along the M4 highway," the statement says.
According to the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, the process even involved Russian Colonel Dmitry Motrenko, who went to negotiate with representatives of military contingents from other countries in Syria, asking for guarantees of immunity for Russian soldiers who are waiting in the T4 airbase area.
"Meanwhile, mercenaries from so-called Russian private military companies, including the 'African Corps,' have appeared in Syria. Their task is to protect Russian units moving from the depths of Syria to the bases on the coast," Ukraine's spy agency adds.
Evacuation of Russian troops from Syria
On December 13, about a thousand Russian soldiers left the area near Damascus in a convoy to Tartus and Hmeimim.
For the ongoing operation to evacuate the Russian military contingent from Syria, Russia plans to involve at least 25 military transport aircraft - to move troops, weapons, and equipment from Khmeimim to Rostov-on-Don, Chkalovsk, and Vladivostok.
As reported earlier, Russia has likely begun withdrawing some of its troops from Syria, as indicated by the analysis of satellite images.
