What did 26 February 2020 follow in Ukraine and Syria?
A look back at reports from the days before 26 February 2020, from protests over evacuees in Novi Sanzhary to escalation in Idlib.
What was the news picture on 26 February 2020? Reports from the days just before it pointed to tension in two very different places: a Ukrainian town and a Syrian province.
In Ukraine, protests in Novi Sanzhary were reported on 20 February 2020 against the arrival of people evacuated from China. Buses were damaged during the unrest, and 10 people were injured.
The same day, there was a sharp escalation in north-west Syria. Turkish-backed rebels launched an offensive in the Idlib Governorate against government forces. A Russian air strike killed two Turkish soldiers and injured five others. Turkey said its retaliatory strike killed 50 Syrian troops. Several tanks and armoured personnel carriers were destroyed near the village of Nayrab.
Turkey also formally asked its NATO ally, the United States, to deploy Patriot surface-to-air missile systems on the Syria–Turkey border. The aim, as reported, was to deter Syrian and Russian air strikes on Turkish troops.
The two stories were unconnected, but both showed how quickly a local flashpoint could draw in wider institutions and allies. In Novi Sanzhary, it was a dispute over where evacuees would be received. In Idlib, it was a military confrontation that led Ankara to turn to its alliance partners.
