Ukraine and Syria to cooperate on security in unexpected military alliance
Ukraine's Zelenskyy arrived in Damascus in a surprise visit on Sunday, for his first official visit to Syria after the fall of the pro-Russian al-Assad regime.
Ukraine and Syria pledged greater security cooperation in talks in Damascus on Sunday as Kyiv pushes to deepen security ties across the Middle East amid Moscow's ongoing full-scale invasion and the Iran war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Syria and the meeting with interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa marked Zelenskyy's first trip to the country since Syria's dictator Bashar al-Assad was ousted in 2024.
The visit follows Zelenskyy's trip to Turkey on Saturday and a Gulf tour last week against the backdrop of the Iran war as he sought to clinch security deals and exchange Ukrainian drone expertise for air defence missiles.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine supported Syria after the fall of the al-Assad regime and is ready to continue working with Damascus on stability and development. He said Kyiv and Damascus would work more closely together so that the two countries and people "can become stronger," and their "economies can grow".
"We discussed in detail how to overcome the consequences of the war, as well as the negotiation process regarding Russia’s war against our state and our people," Zelenskyy wrote on X.
“I am grateful to all Syrians who welcomed us today. Ukraine was among the first to support a new Syria after the fall of the Assad regime. We are ready to continue supporting stability and development.”
Syria's al-Sharaa said the two leaders focused on "ways to strengthen economic cooperation and exchange expertise."
"The visit underscores Syria’s commitment to expanding its international partnerships in support of development and enhanced stability."
Syria’s new partnerships
Unlike the Gulf states, which Zelenskyy visited last week, Syria is not known to have any modern anti-ballistic air defence systems that might be of interest to Kyiv.
As well as the other countries in the region, it is also not capable of dealing with Iranian drones or missiles.
However, Syria has something that other countries do not have — active Russian military bases.
The Kremlin was a key ally of al-Sharaa’s predecessor al‑Assad, now exiled in Moscow.
Since he came to power just over a year ago, al-Sharaa has been trying to build new diplomatic ties after more than a decade of war and global isolation.
He also seems to have been maintaining a certain balance with Moscow as of now.
In January, he met President Vladimir Putin and so far has not asked Russia to withdraw from its military bases on Syrian soil.
Russian military bases in Syria remain
Moscow kept two bases in Syria: Khmeimim and Tartus on the Mediterranean coast.
Both are of critical importance to Russia, as they provide Moscow with easier access to the Middle East, North Africa, and the Mediterranean sea.
Established by the Soviet Union in the 1970s, the port at Tartus was then expanded and modernised by Russia in 2012. Since 2013, Tartus has housed what the Russian Navy calls its "permanent task force in the Mediterranean Sea".
Moscow used it to conduct naval exercises, station warships and even host nuclear submarines.
When Turkey closed the Bosphorus to foreign warships in March 2022 shortly after Russia went on its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Tartus base played a critical role in maintaining Moscow's naval presence in the Mediterranean.
The airbase at Khmeimim has been operational since 2015 and was used to launch air strikes across Syria in support of al-Assad. It serves as a major logistical hub for Russian operations in Africa.
Russian military aircraft making their way south have frequently used Khmeimim to refuel.
Last year al-Sharaa requested al-Assad’s extradition so he could face a trial back home in exchange for maintaining the Russian military presence in the country. Moscow rejected the request.
Commenting on this last year, al-Sharaa admitted that Syria still needed Russia’s support.
“All weapons in Syria are Russian,” he said in April 2025, explaining that at that moment Damascus didn’t have offers and alternatives to replace Syrian weapons but was “negotiating new agreements,” specifically with Turkey.
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