The downfall of Assad has threatened Russia's military presence in Syria along with its wider strategic objectives. Russia's bases in Syria made it a major diplomatic player in the Middle East. AdvertisementThe fall of Bashar Assad has thrown Russia's military presence in Syria into question. Russia has been a close ally of Syria and has leases on two military bases in the country, giving it a strategic foothold in the Middle East. Advertisement"I think it will rattle some folks in the Kremlin to see just how quickly Russia's military had to withdraw," Dailey said.

---

Persons: Assad, Bashar Assad, Tahrir, Sham, Syria's, Edmund Fitton, Brown, Andreas Krieg, Ann Marie Dailey, doesn't, Dmitry Peskov, Wagner, Dailey, Vladimir Putin, Ali Bilgic, Putin, Cristian Nitoiu, Nitoiu, Loughborough University's Bilgic, Donald Trump, Bilgic, they've Organizations: Russia, Counter, Institute of Middle Eastern, King's College London, RAND, BI, Planet Labs PBC, Russian, Institute for, UK's Loughborough University, Loughborough University, US, UN, Loughborough Locations: Syria, Africa, Russia, Gulf, Tartus, Soviet, USSR, Ukraine, Qatar, Turkey