Putin’s Syria Setback Threatens Key Russian Military Bases

The fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria represents a personal defeat for Russian President Vladimir Putin and a potentially serious strategic setback for his military that undermines Moscow’s global ambitions.

While Putin gives asylum to Assad in Moscow, Russia is facing the loss of its naval base in Syria — its only hub on the Mediterranean Sea — and an airfield used to supply its operations in Africa. Both installations have been key to the Kremlin’s projection of strength on the world stage and its attempts to rebuild its Cold War-era influence — those efforts, and the bases, now look worthless as Russia’s attention is consumed by its invasion of Ukraine.