ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on Monday received a top Ukrainian delegation in Damascus, weeks after Russia-backed Bashar al-Assad was toppled following a major rebel offensive. Kyiv said they discussed enhancing bilateral relations and coordination across multiple fields with the new Syrian authorities.

Russia, which launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022, was one of the main backers of Assad. The fall of Assad has been deemed a major setback for Moscow in the Middle East. After he was ousted from power, Assad fled to Russia.

In a press conference following his meeting with Sharaa, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said they sought “cooperation with the new Syrian administration in various fields.”

“We offer assistance in evidence collection, investigations, and pursuing crimes,” Sybiha said. “Ukraine and Syria share the experience of suffering oppressive regimes.”

The Ukrainian foreign minister said they were ready to “help Syria investigate crimes by the former regime and Russia,” accusing Assad and Moscow of sharing “responsibility for atrocities in Syria."

Sybiha's visit to Damascus came two days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenesky said Kyiv had dispatched 500 tons of wheat flour to Syria.

“As promised, we are supporting the Syrian people in their time of need,” Zelenesky said. “We wish Syria and its people safety, stability, and recovery. We know the true values of these things.”

The Ukrainian foreign minister said Kyiv will send “more food shipments to Syria."

An 11-day sweeping rebel offensive spearheaded by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, led by Sharaa, brought a five-decade-long rule of the Assad family to an end on December 8.

Soon after Assad’s ouster, Damascus became a hotspot for diplomats’ visits worldwide.

Despite Moscow's backing for Assad which turned the tide of Syria’s civil war in the previous Damascus regime’s favor, Sharaa on Sunday said there were "deep strategic interests between Russia and Syria" in an interview with Saudi state-owned Al-Arabiya TV channel.

"All Syria's arms are of Russian origin, and many power plants are managed by Russian experts... We do not want Russia to leave Syria in the way that some wish," Sharaa said.

In the early days of the rebel offensive, which was launched in late November, Russia accused the rebel forces of receiving military support from external forces, namely Ukraine.

"There is no doubt that they [HTS] would not have dared to commit such an audacious act without the instigation and comprehensive support of external forces that seek to provoke a new round of armed confrontation in Syria, unfurl the spiral of violence," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters on December 4, just four days before Assad was ousted from power.

Ukraine's foreign ministry at the time "categorically" rejected that accusation.