Russian forces in the Mediterranean - Wk19/2022

Task Force Composition

As reported by OSINT at the morning of May 14

Weekly Brief

The majority of the Russian task force remains near the Syrian port of Tartus with a small naval group comprised of a Slava class cruiser and two frigates operating at sea. These vessels are believed to operate near Crete as they have been in the past two months. There have been however no recent sightings reported near Crete, making it difficult to establish where these Russian vessels are patrolling.

The arrival of a Russian tanker at Tartus, presumed to be either Sig or Yaz, is an anomaly as these vessels normally discharge at Baniyas. It is possible that this tanker is discharging at Tartus in order to directly supply the Mediterranean Task Force with refined fuel for future operations.

Varyag and her group remained at Tartus at the beginning of the week. These vessels, Udaloy class destroyer Admiral Tributs and fleet oiler Boris Butoma, have been deployed from Vladivostok since December. In normal conditions, these vessels should head back to the Pacific Fleet soon. However, given the war in Ukraine, their presence in the Mediterranean could be further extended in order to deter NATO warships from entering the Aegean Sea.

Daily Events

May 07
Russian tanker Yaz passed the Bosporus and headed towards the Mediterranean. The transit took place during the night [1].

May 09
Slava class cruiser Varyag was photographed from the Syrian shoreline in the area near the port of Tartus [2]. The photograph was taken during the evening as indicated by the glow of the setting sun.

May 10
Several Russian warships were observed on satellite imagery of the port of Tartus. Both Kilo class submarines were reported in the harbor together with an Udaloy class destroyer being along side of the fleet oiler Boris Butoma. A Slava class cruiser and a Gorshkov class frigate were observed just outside the harbor [3].
Given the fact that the imagery was from 08:30 UTC, the Slava class cruiser could still be the Varyag which was photographed the previous evening. The Udaloy class destroyer could possibly be the Admiral Tributs but this can not be verified.
Several other vessels were observed in port. Based on previous imagery these vessels are the supply vessel Vice-Admiral Paromov, rescue tug Sergei Balk and the Aleksandrit class minehunter Vladimir Emelyanov.

May 11
Russian tankers Sig and Yaz are reported near the ports of Baniyas and Tartus in Syria though it is unknown which vessel is located where [4].
The arrival of one of these tankers at Tartus is an unexpected event as both vessels normally have Baniyas as their debarkation point. It is possible that one of these tankers is carrying fuel that is to be used directly by the Russian naval task force.
Several other vessels were visible as well in the port, these included both the Improved Kilo class submarines, fleet oiler Boris Butoma, supply vessel Vice-Admiral Paromov, rescue tug Sergei Balk and the Aleksandrit class minehunter Vladimir Emelyanov.

May 12
Slava class cruiser Marshal Ustinov and Gorshkov class frigate Admiral Kasatonov are reported west of Crete while Grigorovich class frigate Admiral Grigorovich is allegedly sailing in the southern Aegean Sea [5].

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