The Kremlin continues to put pressure on the West, demanding impossible security guarantees in Europe, building up troops near Ukraine and conducting military exercises one after another. Syria is also involved in Putin's tactics, albeit indirectly.

Israel was concerned after Syrian and Russian military jets conducted a joint patrol on Jan. 24 along Syria's airspace, including the Golan Heights area, Ynet reported. Now the IDF is trying to find out from their Russian colleagues why they wanted to organize patrols along the southern borders of Syria. The first interpretation is that the Russian side is trying to influence the activity of Israeli airstrikes on targets in Syria. The second interpretation is that amid tensions over Ukraine, Moscow is sending a signal to NATO that their military capabilities include the Middle East.

The Russian military also organized patrols on the ground in these weeks. In particular, the command of the Russian Hmeimim airbase in Syria began conducting round-the-clock raids at the sea port of Latakia due to the threat of terrorist attacks. According to the head of the Russian military's Reconciliation Center in Syria, Rear Adm. Oleg Zhuravlev, the initiative was related to an appeal by Damascus and its intelligence services. On Jan. 15, Russian officers also conducted exercises with an air defense unit of the Syrian regime forces.

These measures may be addressed to Israel, some experts believe. In December, the IDF twice attacked targets in the port area, which is 20 km from the Hmeimim base. Since 2018, the Israelis had not attacked targets in the Russian area of responsibility, but have now violated that tacit agreement, according to the Russian newspaper Kommersant.