Subject: Re: Here, Vlad. Take Ukraine! On a Platter!
...but the self-inflicted damage of the only other southern force, fleeing syria, has been ridiculous.

Yes, that was the only base (Syria) they had in the Med. And now it's gone. Last I heard, they were packing up their airbase, too (under heavy security, since the new Syria is hostile to them). Once completed, they will have no presence in the Med at all.

Which, as you say, means going past NATO allies to get to the Atlantic. At least until the polar ice cap melts (not being hyperbolic...several nations are already making plans for that eventuality).