How Russia’s brutal tactics in Ukraine were foreshadowed in Syria

For many in the West, the brutality of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was a shock. But for Syrians there was a grim sense of familiarity about it, writes Richard Hall

Artists in Idlib province paint a mural to protest against Russia's military operation in Ukraine (AFP/Getty)

When Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February, there was a sense of shock in Western capitals – first at the brazenness of the operation itself, and soon after, at its brutality. It didn’t take long for Russian forces to begin bombarding civilian areas in an attempt to capture territory in the east and northeast of the country. In the first month, the United Nations human rights commission recorded 3,455 civilian deaths in the country, most of which were caused by shelling, heavy artillery, missiles and airstrikes.

Vladimir Putin went from a partner on the world stage to a pariah in the eyes of European governments. Global opinion of Russia was transformed overnight. But for many Syrians, there was a grim familiarity to the events unfolding in Ukraine. They had seen this kind of brutality before, in their own country.

“What shocked me is that the world is shocked. Why are they shocked? Is it just because it’s a European country?” said Abdulkafi Alhamdo, an English teacher from the Syrian city of Aleppo. “Syria was a laboratory for their weapons, for their tactics. Now they are using them in Ukraine,” he told The Independent.