Ukrainian intelligence coordinating with Syrian rebels against 'mutual enemy', says opposition figure

A Syrian opposition figure has said that Ukraine and rebels in Syria who have taken large swathes of the country’s northwest have been coordinating.

Speaking to The New York Times, Mouaz Moustafa, who heads the US-based 'Syrian Emergency Task Force' humanitarian organisation said that both Ukraine and the rebels wanted to work together to deal a blow to mutual enemy Russia.

"Two nations are fighting for their country to be free of tyranny and outside occupation," he told the newspaper. "It’s natural for them to coordinate."

While Ukrainian officials have not commented on the Syrian rebel offensive, the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, Kyrylo Budanov, had said his forces would seek to attack Russian forces anywhere in the world.

Russia intervened in the Syrian conflict in 2015 to help prop up President Bashar al-Assad’s regime as it began to lose large parts of the country to opposition groups.

Moscow has maintained a military presence in war-torn Syria ever since.

Russia also launched an invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Other Russian officials and Damascus have previously accused Budanov of having contacts with the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, the main force in the rebel offensive.

On Tuesday, the Russian ambassador to the UN lambasted Ukraine for supporting the opposition groups and called out the UN for not condemning what he called "terrorist attacks"  in Syria.

Vassily Nebenzia told the Security Council that the rebels "have not only not concealed the fact that they are supported by Ukraine, but they are also openly flaunting this."

"Ukrainian military instructors from the GUR [Ukraine intelligence] are present…training HTS fighters for combat operations," including against Russian troops in Syria, said Nebenzia.

This training allegedly includes GUR specialists helping rebels in opposition-controlled Idlib manufacture drones themselves.

They allegedly included "kamikaze" drones which Ukrainian forces have used against invading Russian forces since 2022.

Recently, the Syrian opposition groups have been using a drone dubbed "Shaheen," for precision attacks against regime forces. It has come out as a vital weapon in the war.

Russia's propaganda tactics

The New Arab's senior news editor Paul McLoughlin, a Syria specialist, says that while Ukraine had incentives to link up with Syrian rebel groups to attack Russian forces, it was still difficult to verify whether any of these claims are true.

"It is possible that there are Ukrainian assets operating inside Syria due to the [Russian] Hmeimim base, as it’s a way of hitting Russia outside of Ukraine," McLoughlin said.

He believes Russia has been using the claims of Kyiv aiding rebel groups to portray them as colluding with extremist groups within the opposition.

While there was no confirmation yet on media reports claiming the Syrian opposition reached out to Ukraine for help on how to make and use drones, McLoughlin believes it is more likely that drone capabilities are being provided by Turkey.

"Turkey played a big role in providing drones which Ukraine used during the counterattack against Russia, and they were key to Ukrainian successes," he said.

"Ultimately both sides have incentives to promote the idea of Ukrainian intelligence operating inside Syria - Ukraine to show it is capable of hitting Moscow well beyond its borders and Russia to claim a nexus between Kyiv and extremists elements within the Syrian rebel camp."

The sweeping offensive which began on 27 November has seen rebel groups capture Aleppo, Syria’s largest city by population.

They’re now closing in on another major city, Hama, a significant move as it sits on a strategically important road linking the north to Homs and Damascus in the south, as well as the Syrian coast, which is a regime stronghold.

Hundreds have been killed in clashes and Russian and Syrian regime airstrikes.