[33] On 15 October 2016, a Russian seven-ship Northern Fleet task force composed of the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, the battlecruiser Pyotr Velikiy, two Udaloy-class destroyers, Severomorsk and Vice-Admiral Kulakov and a number of supply ships left Severomorsk for the Eastern Mediterranean to support Syrian government forces battling rebel troops in Aleppo.

[46][47][48][49][50][51] Two Typhoon fighters scrambled from RAF Lossiemouth on the night of 17 October to intercept a Tupolev Tu 142 carrying out maritime surveillance north of Shetland ahead of the Russian battlegroup.

The aircraft struck "ammunition depots, groups of terrorists and their training centers, as well as facilities being used to manufacture mass destruction means that are used against civilians" according to Russian Minister of Defence, Sergey Shoigu.

[67] On 19 November, after heavy bombardment of eastern Aleppo, the Syrian Army attempted to advance in the Sheikh Saeed district in the southeast but were again repelled by the rebels.

[22][68] In addition, in the evening, after two days of Syrian and Russian airstrikes, the Tiger Forces took control of the strategic Zouhor hill which overlooks the Hanano district and most of rebel-controlled east Aleppo.

According to the pro-opposition activist group the SOHR, if the Army managed to seize Hanano, they would be able to cut off the northern part of the rebel-held Aleppo from the rest of the opposition-held districts.

[95] The collapse of the rebel frontlines was attributed to the heavy volume of bombardments, the intensity of the fighting, the number of dead and wounded, and the lack of working hospitals.

[121] On 29 November, the Army seized large parts of the southeastern al-Jazmati and al-Ma’saraniyah neighborhoods, in order to secure the Aleppo International Airport and its highway.

[141] Around 01:00, during the day's clashes, a Syrian Air Force Aero L-39 Albatros was shot down by rebel fire and crashed in the central part of the city, with both pilots killed.

[185] On 7 December, the Army continued their large-scale offensive, securing Sheikh Lutfi, while also capturing the Marjah, Bab Al-Nayrab,[186][187][188] Maadi and Salheen districts.

[191][193][194] Still, despite the announced humanitarian pause, the next day, there were conflicting reports, with some stating fighting was continuing,[191][194] while others that the government offensive resumed after a short break.

[196] One more possible reason for the halt in the Army's advance was reported to be the concurrent ISIL offensive against Palmyra, which diverted troops away from Aleppo to defend the city.

[204] That night, rebels from Fatah Halab and Jaysh al-Fatah accepted the terms of surrender, under which they would be transferred to the Anadan plains,[208] while street celebrations erupted in Aleppo after reports of the Syrian Army's declared victory.

[209] On 13 December, the remaining rebel-held areas east of the Queiq River were cleared, with the rebels squeezed into a small pocket of approximately 3.5 square kilometers to the west of it.

[211][212] UN humanitarian advisor Jan Egeland concluded that all the governments, such as those of Russia, Syria, and Iran, who are supplying forces, military or militia, with weaponry, are directly responsible for protecting the lives of civilians.

[216] The deputy director of research for Amnesty International in Beirut also said: "The reports that civilians, including children, are being massacred in cold blood in their homes by Syrian government forces are deeply shocking but not unexpected given their conduct to date.

"[217] Head of the Main Operations Department of Russia's General Staff Lieutenant-General Sergei Rudskoi commented that a "new information campaign" disseminated by "some Western politicians" that "[Aleppo's] streets are full of corpses while thousands of residents are still hiding in basements" is "a blatant lie".

He stated that officers of Russia's Center for the Reconciliation of the Warring Sides in Syria and representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross who entered together with Syrian soldiers "found no corpses there", and neither were any seen by the "unmanned aerial vehicles [that] were broadcasting in real time to the entire world".

Under the terms, a cessation of bombardment on rebel-held areas was implemented, while ground clashes were to cease in the evening, after which the first civilian evacuations would take place.

[222][223] In the evening, Vitaly Churkin, Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations, and Alfarouq, the leader of Ahrar al-Sham, both confirmed all military actions had ceased.

[237] In the evening, a new ceasefire deal was reached, with evacuations scheduled to start early on 15 December, from both Aleppo and the villages of Foua and Kafriya besieged by the rebels.

However, later, Hezbollah's media unit denied these reports, stating that negotiations were seeing big complications due to tension and operations on the front lines.

[243][244] UN's humanitarian adviser in Syria, Jan Egeland stated the sick and wounded including orphans would be evacuated first, followed by vulnerable people and then the rebels.

[253] As the withdrawal was getting underway, the rebels burned their command centers, warehouses and vehicles,[255] while Senior Russian general Viktor Poznikhir stated that the Syrian Army had almost finished its operations in Aleppo.

[245][257] The U.N. envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura stated that around 50,000 people were still to be evacuated, of which 40,000 civilians would go to West Aleppo, while the remaining 10,000 consisting of 1,500–5,000 rebels and their families would be taken to Idlib.

[272] It was later suspended again due to the attack on six buses en route to Foua and Kafriya, however resumed again later with a convoy carrying civilians being allowed to leave.

[283] In the days following the evacuation, 63 soldiers and pro-government militiamen were killed by booby traps left by the retreating rebels in the former rebel-held part of Aleppo.

[284] The Syrian Army accused the jihadist rebels of Fatah Halab and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham of carrying out a massacre prior to leaving the last east Aleppo neighborhoods.

[287] However, the pro-opposition activist group the SOHR denied the Army's allegation and stated the dozens of bodies that were found belonged to soldiers who were killed during fighting in the southern outskirts of the city.

[299] Some commentators also remarked that whilst the victory in Aleppo was a sure sign of growing Russian influence, Iran was believed to be the greatest beneficiary of the battle's outcome.