Two African states are frustrating Moscow's efforts to establish a stronger military presence in the continent following the fall of Assad.

The rapid downfall of Syrian leader Bashar Assad has touched off a new round of delicate geopolitical maneuvering between Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

With Russia’s diminished influence in Syria, Ukraine calls on Israel to reconsider its stance and provide essential defensive weapons and technology.

For much of the past decade, Assad’s regime, bolstered by unwavering support from Iran and Russia, brutally suppressed dissent. What began as an uprising in 2011 evolved into a devastating civil war that eventually settled into an uneasy stalemate.

Russia hasn't mass-evacuated troops and gear from Syria; it's likely waiting the situation out. Analysts say attempts to withdraw would be obvious.

The downfall of Bashar Assad in Syria is a blow to Russian influence in the Middle East, likely impacting its access to key military bases.

The Kremlin confirmed on Dec. 11 that longtime Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad had fled to Moscow after rebels took the capital city of Damascus in a lightning offensive that shocked the world. Assad’s exile in Russia comes as little surprise.

The Russian military sites in Syria include a naval port on the Mediterranean Sea to berth submarines and an airfield to project power across the Middle East and Africa. But after rebels ousted Syria’s Kremlin-backed president, Bashar al-Assad, the future of these installations is uncertain.

Russia sent a ship to evacuate soldiers and equipment from its bases in Syria but it broke down en route, according to Ukrainian intelligence.

Concurrently, marine traffic monitors show a Vladivostok-bound cargo ship, Ursa Major, previously registered as Sparta III and visually matching the picture published by HUR, moving at a very low speed of little over 1 knot in the open sea between Spain and Algeria.