Russia Accuses Ukraine of Supporting Syrian Rebels Against Assad

Photo Credit: UKinUSA / Flickr

Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya talks with UK Ambassador Karen Pierce during a United Nations Security Council emergency meeting on the situation in Syria, April 14, 2018.

Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations leveled sharp accusations at Ukraine on Tuesday, claiming its intelligence services have been supporting militants fighting the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, told the Security Council that members of the radical group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in northwest Syria were “openly flaunting” their alleged ties to Ukraine.

“There is a clear trail,” he asserted, “showing that Ukraine’s GUR (military intelligence agency) is providing weapons to these fighters.”

Nebenzia’s remarks mark the latest escalation in a complex web of geopolitical tensions, where the Syrian conflict has often intersected with broader rivalries involving Moscow, Kiev, and their respective allies.

“For our part, we firmly condemn this coordinated attack by the HTS terrorists in control of Idlib, which is destabilizing the already tense situation on Syrian soil. We have repeatedly warned against flirting with international terrorists who have entrenched themselves in direct proximity to Aleppo. However, our Western colleagues, driven by hatred toward the legitimate authorities in Syria, have not stopped cooperating with them,” Nebenzia told the UN Security Council.

Nebenzia further stated that the Syrian military, with backing from Russia and other allied forces operating at the request of what he described as the “legitimate Syrian authorities,” was actively working to repel the militants. He underscored Moscow’s continued support for Damascus in its fight against insurgent groups.

Russian Air Force, RF-81719, Sukhoi Su-35S. / Anna Zvereva / Wikimedia

“Precision and calibrated strikes with the use of fighter jets, artillery, and multiple rocket launchers are being carried out against positions of the terrorist movement and the fighters who have joined it. Since the beginning of the operation, about 400 terrorists have been eliminated and over 600 have been wounded,” Nebenzia stressed.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Russian fighter jets have escalated their airstrikes on positions of pro-Turkey “National Army” factions in and around Aleppo. The number of civilians and combatants who were killed in airstrikes by Russian fighter jets has reached 128, with more than 150 civilians injured.