Ukraine sent drones to Syrian rebels ahead of Assad’s overthrow — The Washington Post

Ukraine provided military support to Syrian opposition groups shortly before the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, The Washington Post reports, citing unnamed sources.

According to the publication, Ukrainian intelligence sent 20 drone operators and around 150 drones to Idlib in early November to assist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. However, Kyiv’s support wasn’t instrumental in Assad’s removal, according to sources within Western intelligence cited by the outlet.

David Ignatius, a columnist for The Washington Post, noted that Ukraine’s assistance to Syrian groups was not a well-kept secret. He suggested that Ukraine’s actions aimed to undermine Russia’s influence, as Moscow had been a key backer of Assad.

In late July, both Kyiv Post and RBC-Ukraine reported that a unit of Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate had carried out a coordinated strike on a Russian airbase in Syria.

In an October article, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed that Ukraine was assisting Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. He alleged that Kyiv was training rebels in “new UAV production technologies for combat operations against the Russian Armed Forces in Syria.”