Israeli military aircraft carried out a series of powerful airstrikes on military targets in the Syrian port city of Tartus, home to an important Russian naval base and ship repair facility, on the night of 15-16 December.

The images show new activity at the Hmeimim Air Base over the past few days as Russia's military footprint in Syria remains in limbo.

Israel launched a series of airstrikes in Syria's coastal Tartus region late Sunday, marking the most intense bombardment in the area since 2012, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Russia has begun withdrawing a large amount of military equipment and troops from Syria following the ouster of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, according to two US officials and a western official familiar with the intelligence.

A cargo vessel, Sparta, sent by Russia to evacuate its military equipment and weaponry from Syria, has broken down on the way and the Russian crew is adrift in the open waters near Portugal. Source: Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) Quote: "The cargo vessel Sparta,

Israel said it had wiped out the vast majority of the Syrian military's assets, including huge chunks of its air-defense network.

Russia's military presence at two key bases in Syria fell into uncertainty after the Assad regime fell last weekend.

The transfer marks the end of an era when Russia played an arguably oversized role in determining which countries could operate in Syria’s contested airspace.

Russia used the air base in Hmeimim and naval base at Tartus to support Bashar al-Assad in Syria’s 13-year civil war. But now, Assad is gone.

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

Russian forces have completely withdrawn from most of their positions in Syria, but they remain at the Hmeimim airbase and the Tartus port. Moscow plans to fully withdraw its troops by February 2025,