Russland hat einen wichtigen Luftwaffenstützpunkt aufgegeben – hier ist, was Putin wirklich tut

Russian troops have withdrawn from a key airbase in [Syria](https://inews.co.uk/topic/syria?srsltid=AfmBOoqt24Kx_ux8cRT-XTBTfavlQ5YWvhCSdoKphKqFnthu5FEExz8h&ico=in-line_link) as Moscow loses influence across the Middle East.

Russian troops evacuated Qamishli airbase in the country’s north this week, with video footage showing troops loading up aircraft and moving cargo.

Russia has stationed personnel at the base since 2019, under agreements made with the Syrian former dictator [Bashar al-Assad](https://inews.co.uk/topic/bashar-al-assad?srsltid=AfmBOoqhXmjS9eRU0FwGUyaSX75TK7ZIZ1mb0A-maiizAYgPbVs_0e7C&ico=in-line_link), who [fled to Moscow](https://inews.co.uk/news/assads-luxury-life-moscow-beverley-hills-never-safe-3430156?ico=in-line_link) after his [December 2024 ousting](https://inews.co.uk/news/syria/assads-regime-on-the-brink-of-collapse-as-rebels-surround-damascus-3420387?ico=in-line_link).

Russo-Syrian relations have been “lukewarm” since Assad’s fall, analysts said.

Moscow’s other key Middle Eastern ally, Iran, has been [significantly weakened over the last year](https://inews.co.uk/news/world/how-worried-irans-nuclear-threat-3630002?srsltid=AfmBOoqJz5vHrc2lGhNyolLsI28VA-EkDv95-PBilOEQczjOqHtUdD0T&ico=in-line_link) thanks to direct attacks by the US and Israel, and blows to its proxy militias including Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis.

However, [Vladimir Putin](https://inews.co.uk/news/putin-seizing-opportunity-trumps-handed-wreak-havoc-4186540?srsltid=AfmBOop6CES7TTIyYyVClsElpRjdXBW7B8oUqD4EbtCMjnRr6hbllAkJ&ico=in-line_link) is far from down and out in the region, analysts have warned. While the withdrawal marks a significant climbdown in Russia’s military presence in Syria, analysts cautioned against reading the move as Putin accepting defeat.

Russia still maintains a larger presence at Hmeimim [airbase and a naval facility on Syria’s Mediterranean coast](https://www.reuters.com/world/russia-withdrawing-troops-airport-northeast-syria-sources-say-2026-01-26/), which appeared unchanged this week. Some of the personnel, military vehicles and heavy weaponry from Qamishli airbase were reportedly being moved to the Hmeimim airbase, while some troops were returning to Russia.

“I’d be careful of framing this as Russia simply ‘losing’ the Middle East,” said Dr HA Hellyer, and expert in Middle East geopolitics and security at the Center for American Progress.

“What we’re seeing in northeast Syria looks more like a tactical pullback and a shifting of priorities, rather than a full retreat. Russia is stretched elsewhere and is having to be more selective about where it puts its resources.”