A group of Ukrainian journalists and activists visited Damascus, Syria, on Monday in commemoration of the ousting of the Moscow-backed Bashar al-Assad regime a year prior.
The group consists of Nobel laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk, journalists Nataliya Gumenyuk and Maksym Butkevych, as well as Crimean Tatar activist Leniie Umerova, according to journalist Fared Al Mahlool on X.
Al Mahlool said the group, alongside members of the NGO Syrian Emergency Organization, “raised both the Ukrainian and Syrian flags in Umayyad Square in the Syrian capital, Damascus.”
The Crimean Tatar flag was also displayed alongside the Ukrainian and Syrian flags in Al Mahlool’s photo.
Matviichuk, who was part of the group, wrote on X a message of solidarity upon her visit.
“I am delighted to be in Damascus on the significant anniversary of the day when people in Syria regained their country,” she wrote. “I have seen terrible prisons here, ruins instead of cities, mass graves. And I have seen a nation that has refused to be broken.”
“Everyone understands that a complex reconstruction lies ahead, accompanied by many obstacles. And what Syria needs most today is love, because love heals.
My love to you, Syria!” she added.
President Volodymyr Zelensky also on Monday congratulated Syria for overthrowing Assad a year prior.
“On this day last year, the Assad regime fell. This was a bright day for Syria, the Middle East, and the entire world. A day of justice, freedom, and hope,” Zelensky wrote on X.
“Most importantly, the Syrian people were given the opportunity to restore a normal and safe life. We have been there right away, lending a helpful hand. And we stand ready to continue our support.”
Syria’s Assad regime was ousted on Dec. 8, 2024, after a lightning rebel offensive swept across the country, effectively ending a civil war that had plagued the nation for more than a decade and bringing down an Assad dynasty that had ruled with an iron fist for over half a century.
Assad and his family fled the country and sought refuge in Moscow.
New Syrian regime’s diplomatic tightrope between Kyiv, Moscow
Syria’s new regime had swung between Kyiv and Moscow after Assad’s ousting, though recent diplomatic signals suggest it has now chosen to maintain some ties with Moscow.
Russia had agreements with the Assad regime to keep two permanent military bases in Syria, along with numerous outposts across the country. Kremlin forces supported Assad’s assaults on rebel positions – including through airstrikes – following Moscow’s initial intervention in 2015.
In late December 2024, Ukraine’s foreign minister visited Damascus for talks with the new administration, and Syria received 500 tons of flour from Ukraine under the UN program a month later.
Kyiv and Damascus restored diplomatic ties in September 2025.
After Assad’s ousting, the new government had for months shown caution on the prospect of Russia’s military bases, but in July 2025, Damascus and Moscow signaled they would bolster ties and review agreements made under the Assad regime.
In October, Russia resumed military flights to the Hmeimim Air Base in Syria after nearly six months of inactivity, suggesting that some agreement has been reached.