MOSCOW — On Oct. 15, the Russian Defense Ministry published two maps illustrating the situation in northern Syria following the withdrawal of US troops. They show Manbij, in Aleppo governorate, long under US and SDF control, now in the hands of Russian and Syrian forces. The Russia-backed Syrian army has also taken over some 400 square miles around the city that includes the Tabqa military airfield, three bridges (one of them a railroad bridge) across the Euphrates River, and two hydroelectric power plants.

Russians, presumably from private military contractors, are now operating in what used to be a US military post in Manbij. Russian forces are also now patrolling the “contact line” between Syrian and Turkish fighters. Mil-to-mil communication behind the scenes between Moscow and Ankara is helping to avoid accidental and intentional clashes.

Despite the Russian and Syrian territorial gains due to the American pullout, Moscow sees the development as an opportunity that is yet to be fully exploited.

A Russian military source who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity said, “We don’t know just yet what was behind such a swift withdrawal of the American forces and most importantly why the Americans would want to [cede] this territory to us rather than their NATO allies — the Turks — but this is not a gift, and we need to be careful now since this may as well be their [American] last ditch effort to have Russia and Turkey collide with one another. You know, they may have been willing to pour gasoline around the house and set it on fire for us as they left.”