Russia, Iran and Hezbollah, otherwise known as Bashar Assad’s lifeline in Syria, have bigger fish to fry at the moment.

The Syrian military rushed in reinforcements Sunday (December 1) in an attempt to push back insurgents from advancing farther after seizing Aleppo and surrounding strategic locations in an adjacent province in a surprise offensive.

The swift and surprise offensive is a huge embarrassment for Syria's President Bashar Assad and raised questions about his armed forces' preparedness.

The surprise offensive on Aleppo by Syrian rebel groups has left the US in the difficult position of not fully supporting either side while also maintaining a force posture of nearly 1,000 troops in Syria as part of the ongoing mission to fight ISIS.

In just a few days, a patchwork of rebel forces has seized control of a broad stretch of land in the west and northwest of Syria. But it’s unclear just how much support Syria’s weakened allies can provide.

The Kremlin said on Monday that Russia was continuing to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad after his forces lost territory to Islamist insurgents and other rebel groups and would see what help was needed to stabilise the situation.