Chapter Twelve - Syria and Smoke

CHAPTER TWELVE

Syria and Smoke

BY 2015, RUSSIA’S global image had taken a hit from the Crimea invasion and the war in eastern Ukraine. Sanctions were biting, and relations with the West were cold. But Putin didn’t back off. He doubled down, this time, outside the former Soviet Union.

The war in Syria had been dragging on for years. Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s dictator, was losing ground to rebel groups and Islamist fighters. The U.S. and its allies were backing some of those rebels. Assad was on the verge of collapse.

Then Putin stepped in.

Russia launched a major military intervention, complete with airstrikes, advisors, weapons, and logistics support. It was billed as a fight against terrorism. But in reality, most of the bombing hit anti-Assad rebels, not ISIS. Russia wasn’t there to fight extremism. They were there to save Assad.

And it worked.

Russian airpower turned the war around. Assad’s forces regained territory. Rebel supply lines got smashed. Entire districts and major cities were devastated. Civilian casualties were massive. But the regime held, and Putin proved something bigger: Russia could still shape global outcomes.

This wasn’t the Soviet Union trying to spread ideology.
This was Putin saying, “We still matter.”

The U.S. was bogged down. NATO was slow. Europe was fractured. And here was Russia, acting decisively, ignoring rules, and getting results.

Back home, it played well. State TV showed missiles launching, jets flying, and strong leadership on display. Critics pointed to war crimes. Putin pointed to victory.

Syria gave him more than military success. It gave him leverage. Russia became a power broker in the Middle East. Western countries now had to coordinate with Moscow to avoid conflict. Putin went from being isolated after Crimea to being unavoidable.

He didn’t need global approval.
He just needed global relevance.