The Telegraph: Putin's Humiliation In Syria Will Change His Position On Ukraine

The collapse of the Syrian regime has come as a real shock to the Kremlin's master.

The collapse of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria and the withdrawal of Russian troops from the country has come as a real shock and humiliation to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, and this could affect his position in the war in Ukraine, The Telegraph. writes.

Hanna Notte, senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, called it an embarrassing failure.

“In recent years, Russia has always blamed blunders and embarrassments on Ukraine and its Western supporters,” she said. “It can try to do the same with Assad’s fall but the rhetorical gymnastics won’t work. It cannot distract from this being a defeat.”

Various think tanks have estimated that Putin has been spending £2 million every day keeping his military in Syria. Several hundred Russian mercenaries and soldiers have also been killed in Syria but the war in Ukraine, according to The Telegraph, is now Putin’s priority and he may have ordered that not a single missile or warplane could be spared to defend Assad.

Kremlin propagandists have appeared stunned but determined to shape the narrative around the collapse of Assad’s regime.

Russian news bulletins have blamed the collapse on a wider Western plot to undermine Russia. They have also stopped describing Syrian rebels as “terrorists”, instead calling them “armed formations” – a sign that the Kremlin has accepted their victory and is preparing to negotiate.

At the same time, as The Telegraph writes, the collapse of the Assad regime will have serious consequences for the Kremlin's strategy in the Middle East, as well as in Africa, and may also affect the Russian regime at home, noted analyst Mark Galeotti.

Analysts warned that the shock of the rapid collapse of the Assad regime could also affect the prospects for peace in Ukraine, further hardening Putin's uncompromising position.

Tatiana Stanovaya, a Russia analyst, said that Putin had been “shaken” by the collapse of Assad and would now be less inclined to “demonstrate flexibility” in Ukraine.“The war in Ukraine has, to some extent, cost him Syria,” she said.

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