Chapter 1354 - 1141: The Midnight Ringing of the Telephone (Part 2)

He is waiting, waiting for Moscow to make a decision, and waiting to see what results his vast net will ultimately yield.

This international game of chance, with lives and the fate of nations as its stakes, has reached its most thrilling moment.

Moscow, the Kremlin.

The heavy oak door isolates the outside world, leaving only the faint ticking of an ancient clock's second hand, further emphasizing the oppressive silence within the room, suffocatingly quiet.

President Vladimir did not sit behind his large office desk but stood before the oversized map of the Middle East, his eyes firmly fixed on Siria—where the coast torn apart by war relates to Russia's national destiny.

Defense Minister Zhaoyi Valley was the first to break the silence: "President, the situation is already very clear and extremely critical. Hafez, Song Heping, Yevgeny—these three key figures have all met with accidents, which equates to the removal of the backbone of the Silia Government Army. The front-line soldiers can still fight because they believe in stable command and support from the rear. Once this news is confirmed, even if just widely spread, the collapse will happen overnight."

Chief of Staff Admiral Rashimu quickly spoke, using a laser pointer to mark the northern front on the map: "According to our General Staff's latest simulations, if we lose effective command and the support of core combat strength like Wagner and 'Musician,' the northern defensive line, especially the southern areas of Idlib and Aleppo, can only hold for 72 to 96 hours at most. HTS and the so-called 'Freedom Army' will surge down like a tide. Their next target is inevitably Homs."

The laser pointer's red dot heavily fell on Homs City.

"Once Homs falls."

Rashimu's voice grew even more serious, "The road to the Mediterranean Coast will be basically open. Opposition armed forces can directly threaten Tartus and even further north in Latakia. Our Hmeimim Air Base and Tartus Naval Supply Base will be directly exposed within enemy artillery range, at least guerrilla and terror attacks will increase exponentially."

Foreign Intelligence Agency (SVR) Director Timov slowly supplemented: "This is not just a military collapse, Mr. President. This will be a catastrophic failure geopolitically. We have invested decades of enormous political, economic, and military resources in Siria. Tartus is our only naval foothold in the Mediterranean, a symbol of Russia's presence in this vital region as a global power."

"Losing it due to the collapse of the Siria regime, our influence in the Middle East will suffer a devastating blow, and our strategic space will be intensely compressed. The Americans, Turkish people, and those Gulf countries will ruthlessly fill the vacuum we leave. At that time, NATO's forces will directly approach our southern vulnerability."

President Vladimir finally turned around, his face showing no joy or anger, but his gaze was extraordinarily hard.

He walked straight to the office desk, placed his hands on the tabletop, and swept his gaze over the three core advisers.

"I am clear about what you said."

His voice was calm yet carried an unquestionable determination.

"Our strategy over the past two years has been limited military intervention combined with proxy warfare, maintaining the survival of the Siria regime and preserving our strategic assets at minimal direct cost. But now it seems, the marginal utility of that strategy has reached its limit. The enemy has seen our bottom line and is constantly probing and breaking through."

He straightened up, his tone becoming increasingly cold: "Americans? Of course, they wish for us to leave Siria. Their proxies are fighting our people on the front lines. Relations? Since the Peninsula incident, what more space is there to fall in our relationships with the West? Sanctions follow one after the other, accusations growing increasingly absurd. Will they stop if we back down? History tells us, no. They only continue to push."

The President's gaze returned to the map's Siria, seeming to pierce through the paper to see the smoke and blood on that land.

"Losing Tartus and Hmeimim means Russia will be completely driven out of the Eastern Mediterranean. This means our Black Sea Fleet will be trapped in the Black Sea, and our strategic projection capability will be severely restricted. This is not merely a loss of an overseas base; this is a severe weakening of our status as a major power. How will our adversaries view us? What will our friends think?"

He paused for a moment, the room as quiet as a pin drop, only his steady voice echoing.

"Zhaoyi Valley."

He looked at the Defense Minister, "If we need to conduct large-scale, overt military intervention, how much time does the General Staff need to complete the major operational plans and troop deployments?"

Zhaoyi Valley immediately answered: "Mr. President, our emergency plans concerning Siria have been continuously updated and improved. The Air Force's pre-deployment can be reinforced within 48 hours. As for ground forces, we can immediately dispatch more military advisors, Special Forces, and strengthen the marine infantry's stationed forces. If structured Army units are needed, we require more time for strategic projection, but key airstrikes and Special Forces operations can be swiftly deployed to stabilize core nodes of the front line."

"Comrade Rashimu." The President then looked at the Chief of Staff, "What is the primary military objective?"

Rashimu replied without hesitation: "Utilize our absolute air superiority advantage, immediately conducting destructive aerial strikes on HTS and Freedom Army's main forces advancing south, stalling their offensive momentum. At the same time, ensure the absolute security of the Homs-Hama-Tartus core corridor. As long as this corridor is secure, we can stabilize our position and then support the Damascus direction."