Russia appears to be packing up its helicopters and air defenses at its base in Syria, according to new satellite images

• In new satellite images, the Russian military appears to be packing equipment at a major airbase in Syria.

• The images show transport aircraft ready to load cargo at the Hmeimim Air Base on Friday.

• Russia's military footprint in Syria plunged into uncertainty after rebel forces ousted Bashar Assad.

Russia appears to be packing military equipment at one of its bases in Syria, according to new satellite images. They are the latest sign that Moscow is reducing, if not withdrawing its footprint from the country after the stunning fall of the Assad regime.

Photos captured Friday by Maxar Technologies and obtained by Business Insider show two An-124 heavy transport aircraft at Hmeimim Air Base in Russia. The fronts of the planes are raised, indicating that they are ready to load equipment or cargo.

In another image of the Hmeimim base, a Russian Ka-52 attack helicopter is seen being dismantled and possibly prepared for transport, according to Maxar. The company said elements of an S-400 air defense unit are also being prepared to depart from a former military deployment site near the coastal city of Latakia.

Additional images collected on Friday show that the Russian warships are still there missing from base in Tartusa port city south of Hmeimim on the Mediterranean Sea. Several frigates, oil tankers, and a submarine were seen at the facility earlier this month, but they were all gone by Monday.

Some of the ships were seen several miles off the coast. It is not clear whether the warships will return to Tartus; their presence at sea could be for safety reasons rather than full evacuation.

The US has not confirmed any major Russian military withdrawal from Syria but has indicated that some forces are, in fact, leaving.

“What we are seeing is a consolidation of assets, including some Russian forces leaving Syria,” Sabrina Singh, the Pentagon's deputy spokeswoman, told reporters on Wednesday. . “What they are doing with their facilities and institutions, that is for them to speak.”

Analysts, too, have drawn attention to the latest activity.

“An increased number of Russian transport aircraft are now visible at Khmeimim,” Michael Kofman, a Russia expert and senior fellow with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said in a social media post.

“The S-400 battery is packing up for transport. While tactical aircraft are still there, RF appears to be consolidating at Khmeimim and Tartus,” he said. “In short, a withdrawal is underway.”

Even if Russia is moving forces out of its bases in Syria, it may only be a partial withdrawal of the military and not a complete evacuation.

The new satellite images come a day after Ukraine's military intelligence agency, known as the HUR, said Moscow was leaving his bases in Syria and has been flying several military transport aircraft between Hmeimim and Russia every day.

BI was unable to confirm Kyiv's independent assessment.

The Russian military presence in Syria became very rare last weekend as rebel forces captured Damascus and ousted Bashar Assad, the country's longtime dictator. Assad has since fled to Moscow with his family.

Russia supported Assad in the Syrian civil war for years, thereby securing a foothold in the country, but the rebels now have the upper hand. They control the province where Tartus and Hmeimim were on the position. The Kremlin is engaged in efforts to ensure security of its facilities with the new Syrian leadership, but it is not clear whether there are official arrangements.

The loss of both Tartus and Hmeimim would be a solution for the Kremlin, which is really depends on the basics to project his power across the region and beyond. Tartus is Russia's main naval base overseas, giving the country vital access to a warm water port. Moscow uses Hmeimim to move military forces in and out of Africa. That makes these bases strategically valuable.

War analysts at the Institute for the Study of War, a US think tank, write on Thursday that Russia “is very likely reluctant to completely evacuate all military assets from Syria if relations are established with the Syrian opposition forces and the transitional government and continue to ensure the security of the establishment and the workers in Syria.

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