Wall Street Journal: Russia resupplies Hmeimim with logistics equipment

 Russia  has carried out its first military supply to the Hmeimim air base since the collapse of the former Syrian regime in late 2024, a move that shows Moscow's  adherence to maintaining its military presence in the Eastern Mediterranean despite political changes in Damascus.

The newspaper said in a report published on Monday, June 1, that the Russian cargo ship "Sparta" arrived at the port of Tartus last May after a long journey that began from St. Petersburg last March.

Marine protection and electronic camouflage

During its voyage, the ship was accompanied by Russian naval pieces, most notably the frigate "Admiral Kasatunov" and a second warship, to secure the protection passage until its arrival in Syria, where  the two warships remained at sea when "Sparta" entered the port of Tartus, according to US officials, and the naval convoy took strict camouflage measures, as the ships turned off the tracking devices after crossing the Strait of Gibraltar, while two ships broadcast misleading location data indicating their presence in the Baltic Sea, in an attempt to avoid Western monitoring.

According to the report, the shipment included logistical and technical equipment intended to support Russian aviation operations at the Hmeimim base.

The newspaper quoted U.S. officials as saying that the ship was carrying equipment intended for the Hmeimim air base, Russia's main military base in Syria.

"I think the Russians have actually succeeded in keeping their bases," said Aaron Lund, a Syria researcher at the Swedish Defense Research Agency, adding that Moscow has used "persuasion and intimidation," but relied more on convincing Syrians that its continued presence could serve the common interests of both sides.

Mutual Security Interests

Bashar al-Assad, a number of his family members and figures from  the former regime currently reside  in Russia, while Chechen fighters and others who came from areas that were under the control of the former Soviet Union live in Syria, some of whom joined armed groups in the Middle East in recent years.

Aaron Lund considered that Russia may constitute a balance card for the new Syrian administration against the United States, especially since Washington's support under President Donald Trump "cannot be considered guaranteed," and according to an official familiar with the US intelligence assessments, hundreds of Russian military personnel are still inside Syria.

Western experts believe that Moscow's holding on to its bases on the Syrian coast is linked to their role as logistical platforms for managing Russian influence in Africa and South America, making any change in their status part of a broader strategic equation.

Sparta Ship Subject to US Sanctions

The Sparta is under U.S. sanctions, as are its owner SC South and its parent company, Oboron Logistics, which defines itself as a logistics company for the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Satellite imagery by satellite company Vantur showed the ship being loaded in St. Petersburg before heading through Europe for the Mediterranean, while images taken by Planet Labs showed it in the port of Tartus on May 11 alongside support ships of the Russian navy.

The Sparta belongs to a small fleet of cargo ships that Russia has used to transport weapons and military equipment in the region, and according to the report, these ships are operated through a network of companies linked to the Russian government, and have been used to circumvent restrictions that currently prevent Russia from moving its military ships across the Black Sea.

Ship-tracking expert and head of the Bosphorus Observer consultancy, Yuruk Isik, said that Sparta and similar ships have a long history of working for the Russian government, adding: "We have clearly seen that they are unloading military cargo in Tartus."

Changes in the U.S. Position

Some U.S. officials do not view the resupply mission as a worrying development, given that relations between Damascus and Moscow are already known, and because Russian equipment in Syria is far from areas of U.S. interests that were previously concentrated in the country's northeast.

 The report spoke of a  division within President Donald Trump's administration over how to deal with the Russian presence in Syria, as one current is pushing for pressure on Damascus to remove Russian forces and dismantle the entire Hmeimim and Tartus bases, while another pragmatic current believes that the Russian presence can be used as a negotiating card on larger files, especially the war in Ukraine.

According to the newspaper, Washington has not yet included the issue of Russian bases among the conditions for easing sanctions on Damascus, considering that the Middle East may constitute a potential space for understanding with Moscow, provided that it does not threaten regional stability or strengthen its association with pro-Iranian militias.