A pro-Kremlin commentator has warned that the war in Ukraine is now entering a “decisive phase” as Vladimir Putin lost a key ally in the Middle East. The rapid fall of doctor-turned-dictator “rat” Bashar al-Assad shocked experts around the world. The future of the country is very much uncertain, but Assad was an important ally for Mad Vlad in his bid to maintain a foothold in the region.

The maligned Russian leader turned a blind eye to Assad using chemical weapons on his own people and led a brutal regime of oppression. Now, Assad is cowering in Moscow. Writing on the pro-Kremlin site MK-RU, columnist Mikhail Rostovsky said Russia has lost a “significant… number of trump cards” as the Assad regime was swept away by rebel forces.

Rostovsky said what will happen next in the country is “covered in a fog of uncertainty”. But Rostovsky also argued Russia “does not have the time for this” due to the war in Ukraine, which he claimed is a “crisis”.

“Let me remind you that a crisis is now entering its decisive phase, which is incomparably more important for our country than the situation in the Middle East – the conflict in Ukraine,” he ranted.

He added that the war had “distracted Moscow’s attention from Syria”, but that it was an “indicator of the seriousness of Russia’s intentions as a great power and a global player”.

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