Satellite images of the port at Latakia captured on Tuesday, December 10, revealed that several Syrian missile boats had been damaged or destroyed, reportedly caused by recent airstrikes that were designed to destroy the former regime's naval fleet.
The images also showed that Russian naval ships have left Moscow's base at Tartous on Syria's coast and some have dropped anchor offshore.
Syrian rebels seized the capital Damascus on Sunday after a lightening advance that sent Assad fleeing to Russia after a 13-year civil war and 54 years of his family's autocratic rule.
Moscow, which was an ally of the Assad regime for decades, is now scrambling to make a deal with the rebels to guarantee the safety of two strategically important military bases.
MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES/REUTERS