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Russia holds first ever military parade in Syria

Navy Day marked with show of military might in St Petersburg, Crimea and Tartous in Syria, where Moscow has just cemented its military presence in deal with Syrian government

Monday 31 July 2017 11:52 BST

Russian naval soldiers took part in processions across the vast country, as well as Tartous in Syria and Sevastopol in Crimea (AFP/Getty Images)

Russia’s armed forces have celebrated Navy Day with processions and parades across the world - including its first ever celebration in Syria.

Navy Day is a national holiday for Russians on which huge parades are held in St Petersburg - Moscow’s second largest city and the home of the Navy - on the last Sunday of July.

There are usually smaller processions at Russian naval bases across the vast country as well as around the world, including Crimea, annexed in 2014, and for the first time this year, the regime-held Syrian city of Tartous.

The Russian and Russian navy flags were raised in the city on Sunday as six warships and a Black Sea Fleet submarine took part in the celebrations, Russia state news agency Interfax reported, accompanied by jets from the nearby Hmeymim air base.

A deal with the Syrian government struck in January of this year will in effect solidify Moscow's presence at the the Hmeymim air base with a lease over the next 49 years and options to renew the presence of troops there for 25-year-long periods.

It is now Moscow’s only permanent Mediterranean base after President Vladimir Putin signed it into law last week.

In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria

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In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria

A Syrian family arrives at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods

Getty

In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria

A Syrian woman, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, reacts as she stands with her children in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters

Getty

In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria

Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past resident fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood

Getty

In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria

Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said

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In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria

Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said

Getty

In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria

Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood , after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters

Getty

In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria

Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past residents fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood

Getty

In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria

Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters

Getty

In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria

Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood

Getty

In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria

A Syrian pro-regime fighter speaks with a child, as residents flee violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood. Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops

AFP/Getty Images

In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria

Smoke rises as seen from a governement-held area of Aleppo, Syria

Reuters

In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria

Syrian soldiers targeting rebels-held areas in the eastern neighborhoods in Aleppo, Syria. According to media reports, the army is now holding on 99 percent of Aleppoís eastern neighborhoods

EPA

In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria

Syrian pro-government forces patrol Aleppo's eastern al-Salihin neighbourhood after troops retook the area from rebel fighters

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In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria

Syrian soldiers rest following the battle at al-Sheik Saeed neighborhood in Aleppo, Syria

EPA

In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria

A Syrian pro-government fighter walking past closed shops in the Bab al-Nasr district of Aleppo's Old City. Once renowned for its bustling souks, grand citadel and historic gates, Aleppo's Old City has been rendered virtually unrecognisable by some of the worst violence of Syria's war

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In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria

The crucial battle for Aleppo entered its 'final phase' after Syrian rebels retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The retreat leaves opposition fighters confined to just a handful of neighbourhoods in southeast Aleppo, the largest of them Sukkari and Mashhad

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In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria

Syrian civilans arrive at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods. Syria's government has retaken at least 85 percent of east Aleppo, which fell to rebels in 2012, since beginning its operation

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In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria

Syrian civilians flee the Sukkari neighbourhood towards safer rebel-held areas in southeastern Aleppo

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In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria

Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances

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In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria

Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The fall of Aleppo would be the worst rebel defeat since Syria's conflict began in 2011, and leave the government in control of the country's five major cities

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In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria

A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border

PA wire

In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria

Syrian refugee Aliya inside the tent where she lives with her husband and ten children in a camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border

PA wire

In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria

Syrian refugee women and children outside the entrance to their tents in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border

PA Wire

In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria

A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border

PA wire

In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria

A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border

PA Wire

In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria

A Syrian refugee woman outside the entrance to the tent where her family live, in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border

PA wire

In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria

A vehicle drives past a mosque at night in Idlib, Syria. Picture taken with a long exposure

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In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria

Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria

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In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria

The night sky is seen through damaged windows in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria

Reuters

In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria

Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled area of Maaret al-Numan in Idlib province, Syria

Reuters

Russia has proven to be Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s most powerful ally in his now more than six-year-old war against various rebel factions; Russian bombing against Isis and moderate Sunni rebel groups has been widely credited with turning the tide of the war in Mr Assad’s favour.

The scale of this year’s parades was unprecedented. Observers believe Sunday’s huge celebrations were designed to show both Russia’s military prowess and Moscow’s ambition to reposition itself as a global power in the face of a more isolationist US.

In St Petersburg, more than 5,000 sailors took part in a parade featuring more 50 ships and submarines and flyovers by 40 jets. Two Chinese warships also took part in the St Petersburg celebrations - a sign of the increasingly close ties between Moscow and Beijing.

The procession was overseen by Mr Putin, who said in a speech that “Russia's history is inseparable from the victories of its courageous and fearless Navy," and announced the addition of 30 new vessels to the Russian fleet over the course of 2017.

Mr Assad did not attend the Tartous processions.

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