Rani Jaber, (a military analyst), Baladi News
The war Putin waged in Ukraine echoes explicitly in Syria today. The Russian Army entered furtively to Ukraine and seized large parts of it, including Crimea and parts of eastern Ukraine which Russia claims that it includes a large mass of Russian population suffering from “persecution”, which led it to intervene to protect them.
The same army is now seeking to seize a part of Syria too, but this time by the displacement of its own people and the resettlement of a militia consisting of Afghans and Iranians in their place. Russia, which supported the separatists in Ukraine by providing them with large amounts of individuals and heavy weapons had, without explicitly declaring it, sent a large number of its soldiers to fight alongside the separatists without carrying their badges or showing any evidence regarding the units they belong to.
This is because it is unable to openly enter war against Ukraine which is considered a gateway to Europe as well as being the last step before getting involved in a direct confrontation with NATO. The establishment of a strategic extension inside Europe, which poses a large threat against the components of the western missile defense system, is one of the important factors in the Russian intervention in Ukraine. On the other hand, the shores of the Mediterranean, the oil wealth in the Middle East as a whole, and the strategic dimension of the area against the emerging Turkey which is a huge strategic threat to Russia, are of the causes of the Russian intervention in Syria.
Stopping the fight in Ukraine prompted Russia to invest its soldiers who have gained a field military experience in the battles against the “well” armed Ukrainian army by sending them to Syria in order to fight the rebels who have an enormous experience in fighting against units that are superior to them in number, firepower, and air support.
When they were in Ukraine, Russian soldiers appeared as being “volunteers” fighting as Russian citizens, Ukrainians, or “former” military personnel. However, the photos that Russian soldiers started to post tell another story. The same “volunteers” who had been fighting in Ukraine appeared in many of the photos captured in Syria, particularly in Palmyra and Hmeimim.
Despite the deployment of different units of the Russian army in Syria, those that had furtively served in Ukraine were the ones that participated in the most important battles of the Syrian regime, particularly the battle of Palmyra.
Russia deployed parts of some of its military units in Syria, including the artillery unit of the independent brigade 120, parts of the Brigade 21, and Brigades 21, 28, 74, 34, 336 and 810, according to “Napalm” website which deals with analyzing information about the Russian military intervention in Ukraine and Syria.
Since the beginning of the Russian intervention in Syria, no other battles of the same enormity of Palmyra battle have taken place. The distinctive features of the area as well as the anticipated fierce resistance caused Russians to choose their most experienced unit, brigade 61, to fight in Syria. This unit had a combat experience of nearly two years in Ukraine and also participated in the operations that led to the displacement and expulsion of a large number of Ukrainians who hate Russia. The war on eastern Ukraine resulted in seizing parts of it, some of which were annexed to Russia, such as Crimea which is inhabited by the “Tatar” minority, where the referendum on the annexation to Russia, is not much different from any referendum held under Assad Regime.
The same Russian troops that had entered Ukraine on the pretext of “protecting the Russians” are now operating in Syria to protect the regime and seize the parts that Russia needs in Syria. However, the intervention is explicit this time, and the forces are not hiding their identities or insignia. Hence, the Ukrainian scenario is being repeated in one way or another in Syria using the same forces and for the same goals, but in different ways.