A "large amount" of Russian military equipment vanished from the Syrian port of Tartus with the departure of the Russian cargo ship Sparta II, an investigative journalist at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Mark Krutov, said on Jan. 27, citing satellite images.

Another Russian cargo ship called Sparta remained docked in the port after the two ships idled for weeks off the coast before being granted permission to dock, the BBC reported.

The news sheds further light on the state of Russian military assets in Syria, whose ultimate fate remains unclear after a rebel offensive overthrew Moscow-backed dictator Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

"A large amount of Russian military equipment vanished from the Syrian port of Tartus with Sparta II’s departure, while Sparta vessel remains in port," Krutov’s post on X read. Both ships are owned by the sanctioned shipping company Oboronlogistics.

Russia’s Stroytransgaz’s commitment made in 2019 to invest over $500 million in the modernization of the port, a prerequisite for allowing Russian ships into the port, was recently canceled.

Russia had a 49-year leasing right of the port, which had been agreed upon earlier by the Assad regime. After the dictator was overthrown and fled to Russia, Moscow began withdrawing military and naval assets from Syria.

Russian soldiers and materiel began leaving the country mainly by planes, departing from another key Russian military base, the Khmeimim airport.

This means that despite the impediments to maritime transport, most materiel is leaving the country via airlift, with only equipment impossible or expensive to lift by air being transported by sea, Russian military blogger Fighterbomber said in a Telegram post on Jan. 22.

The BBC wrote that there were probably two more Russian warships in the port, the Ivan Gren and the Aleksandr Otrakovsky. This assessment was supported by Ukraine's military intelligence.

EU agrees to ease sanctions on Syria following Assad’s fall, chief diplomat says

“While we aim to move fast, the lifting of sanctions can be reversed if wrong steps are taken,” EU chief diplomat Kaja Kallas posted on X, adding that the EU plans to scale up humanitarian aid and reconstruction efforts in Syria.

The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy