The Kremlin said on Monday that Russia was continuing to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad after his forces lost territory to opposition groups and would see what help was needed to stabilize the situation.
A statement from the Syrian Prime Minister's office on Monday said that Russian and Syrian aircraft were striking opposition-held positions in Aleppo's eastern countryside, killing and wounding dozens of fighters.
Russia, a staunch Assad ally, intervened militarily on his side against anti-government factions in 2015 in its biggest foray in the Middle East since the Soviet Union's collapse, and maintains an airbase and naval facility in Syria.
The Kremlin said on Friday it wanted the Syrian government to restore constitutional order as soon as possible and regarded the opposition attack as a violation of Syria's sovereignty.
Asked on Monday whether Russia planned to increase its support for Assad, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said:
"We continue to support Bashar Al-Assad. Contacts are continuing at the appropriate levels.
"We are analyzing the situation and a position will be formed on what is needed to stabilize the situation."
Russian military bloggers said on Sunday that Moscow has dismissed Sergei Kisel, the general in charge of its forces in Syria, and replaced him with Colonel General Alexander Chaiko.
There was no official confirmation from the Russian Defense Ministry of such a change.
Assad has vowed to crush the opposition fighters - a coalition of Türkiye-backed mainstream secular armed groups along with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
The opposition seized control of all of Idlib province in recent days, the boldest assault for years in a civil war where front lines had largely been frozen since 2020.
They also swept into the city of Aleppo, east of Idlib, on Friday night, forcing the army to redeploy.
