Volodymyr Zelensky has said that recent events in Iran have shown Russia’s worthlessness as an ally and demonstrated to Vladimir Putin how dictatorships can end. The Ukrainian leader, speaking in response to journalists’ questions about the consequences of events in Iran for Russia, said that, for him, Putin “has already shown what kind of ally he is”.

“It seems to me that today Putin has already shown what kind of ally he is in Syria, when, in principle, they [the Russians] were unable to help the regime of [Bashar] Assad. Likewise, in my view, [the Russians] have now demonstrated their weakness as well. That is, as allies they are worthless.” On December 8, 2024, the Assad regime in Syria collapsed during a major offensive by opposition forces, spearheaded by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

Following his expulsion from power, former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad lives in exile in Moscow, where he was granted asylum. He resides with his family under strict, secretive and heavily guarded conditions in a luxury apartment complex within the Moscow City business district.

Syria has been run by Ahmed al-Sharaa in a transitional capacity since January 29, 2025.

Mr Zelensky also said that Russia has concentrated all its military forces in Ukraine.

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“What is happening in Iran, it seems to me, is a good message for Putin to look at how dictatorship ends,” Mr Zelensky added.

On Saturday (February 28), the US and Israel dropped dozens of aerial bombs on the residence of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killing him alongside the country’s top command. In response, Tehran launched large-scale attacks with ballistic missiles and kamikaze drones on US bases and territories of US-allied countries in the Middle East, including Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and the UAE.

Putin expressed condolences to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian – who, alongside two other top officials, will lead Iran in its transitional period – over the death of Khamenei, calling it ” a cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law”.