Can Ukraine acquire Russian weapons abandoned in Syria?

Defense Express notes that some social media users have suggested that Ukraine should negotiate with the Syrian opposition to acquire these "trophies," particularly the rare Russian Podlet-K1 radar.

According to the Turkish monitoring site Clash Report, the Syrian opposition seized a Russian Podlet-K1 radar from a base belonging to the 25th Special Forces Brigade of the Assad regime. The fact that it was captured in a folded position indicates that the Russians, or their Syrian allies, were likely preparing to evacuate it. As a result, they didn’t have time to significantly damage the radar before leaving.

Defense Express says that the Podlet-K1 radar is designed to work with the S-400 and S-300PMU-2 systems. The radar has the following specifications: it can detect targets at ranges between 10 and 200 kilometers, with a maximum detection height of up to 10 kilometers. The station can track up to 200 targets simultaneously, and its deployment time is 20 minutes.

By the summer of 2024, Russia had lost at least three Podlet-K1 radars (destroyed) and one (damaged) during the full-scale war against Ukraine, according to Oryx estimates. According to Defense Express, this highlights the rarity of these radar stations being used in combat.

“Another key point is that the Ukrainian Defense Forces have never captured a complete Podlet-K1 radar as a trophy. Public reports only mention that the remains of a destroyed Podlet-K1 radar were found by Ukrainian forces in Chornobaivka during the liberation of the right-bank Kherson region in November 2022,” Defense Express adds.

It also notes that, turning back to the Syrian "trophies," it's important to recognize the challenges involved. While the abandoned Russian and Assad regime equipment may seem like valuable prizes, retrieving any of it could be logistically difficult. Therefore, setting priorities is crucial, and the most valuable pieces should be targeted first. In this case, that would be the Podlet-K1 radar. Securing this radar could provide valuable insights, which would then help improve the effectiveness of missile strikes against Russian military targets.

Current developments in Syria

A large-scale military operation of opposition forces against government forces continues in Syria. The Syrian opposition launched an active offensive on the morning of November 27 and after two days of clashes took control of 56 settlements in the provinces of Aleppo and Idlib and approached the outskirts of Aleppo.

On Saturday, November 30, Russian aviation for the first time since 2016 carried out airstrikes on the city of Aleppo, the center of which has been overrun by Syrian rebels. At the same time, Russia promised Syria additional military assistance.

On November 30, Reuters, citing military sources, reported that Syrian rebels had captured the city of Maraat al-Numan in Idlib province, thus taking control of the entire province.

Oleksandr Sushko, Executive Director of the International Renaissance Foundation, believes that Russia will increase its military presence in Syria with the forces already in the region, without deploying troops from the front of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Meanwhile, the Russian authorities have decided to dismiss the commander of the group of troops in Syria, Sergei Kisel, amid losses and growing panic in the Russian military.