On the night of February 18, 2025, the Russian Khmeimim airbase, located in western Syria, was attacked by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The base's air defense systems were activated to repel the attack. This information was reported by OSINT researcher SyrianOSINT and Sabereen News. Videos distributed on social networks show active air defense operations and falling debris. There are no official reports of damage or casualties yet.

Analysts note that the organizers of the attack are still unknown. However, military blogger Oleg Blokhin suggested that the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), recognized as terrorist and banned in the Russian Federation, could be behind the attack. The leader of this organization, Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Muhammad al-Julani, has been the de facto head of Syria since December 2024, and the country's president for the transitional period since January 29, 2025.

Al-Sharaa's appointment to the presidency came after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad and the establishment of a new government. The new authorities announced the termination of the previous constitution, the dissolution of parliament and all security services. Al-Sharaa previously headed HTS, which in 2017 merged with several Islamist groups and was reorganized into the current structure.

After coming to power, al-Sharaa held a number of meetings with international leaders. Thus, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev congratulated him on the beginning of his duties and invited him to visit Azerbaijan. In addition, French President Emmanuel Macron extended an invitation to al-Sharaa to visit France to discuss bilateral relations.

The attack on the Khmeimim airbase was the first in the last few months. Previously, in December 2024, after the overthrow of Assad, Russian military facilities in Syria were not subjected to such attacks. Experts associate the current attack with a possible change in the political course of the new Syrian authorities or with the actions of individual radical groups not controlled by the central government.