Syrian rebels reportedly capture Jableh, city near Russia’s Khmeimim Air Base

Syrian rebels have seized control of Jableh, a city near Russia’s Khmeimim Air Base, eyewitnesses told Russian state media outlet TASS.

According to one account, rebels entered the city center on Sunday, firing shots into the air, though the situation is now “calm.” The source added that Russian troops remain stationed at the Khmeimim base and have “not engaged in firefights with the rebels.”

The pro-war Telegram channel Fighterbomber, which is close to Russia’s Aerospace Forces, noted that Jableh hosts a checkpoint for the Russian air base. The channel stated that rebels “drove up to the checkpoint, fired into the air, and left.” Russian forces at the base are reportedly preparing to withdraw on December 9.

Meanwhile, Russian planes continue to operate from Khmeimim Air Base. According to Flightradar24, an An-124 transport plane departed the base on December 8 and landed in Moscow later that evening.

Other pro-war Russian Telegram channels write that Russian forces will be withdrawn from both the Khmeimim Air Base and the Tartus port in Syria.

Al Jazeera reported that Syrian rebels have already entered the city of Tartus. OSINT analysts noted that satellite imagery from December 6 shows two of the six Russian vessels stationed at Tartus — the frigate Admiral Gorshkov and the auxiliary ship Yelnya — have not returned to the port. Russia’s Defense Ministry previously stated that these ships had left for exercises in the Mediterranean.

Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate said that Russian forces are evacuating ships from Tartus and airlifting weapons and military equipment from the Khmeimim Air Base. According to Ukrainian intelligence, the frigate Admiral Grigorovich of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet and the cargo ship Inzhener Trubin of the Northern Fleet departed Tartus on December 8.