Russian forces in the Mediterranean - Wk24/2022

Task Force Composition

As reported by OSINT at the morning of Jun 18


Weekly Brief

During the week, the Russian task force changed its deployment from patrol and deterrence to one of naval exercises with the focus on naval warfare. This behavior is in line with that of the other Russian fleets were naval combat exercises are taking place in accordance with the yearly summer training programs.

Daily Events

June 14
A large scale naval exercise was held at an unspecified area of the Eastern Mediterranean that involved the warships of the Northern and Pacific Fleets. Slava class cruisers Varyag and Marshal Ustinov operated as part of a strike group, launching missiles against a simulated hostile task force.
Meanwhile, Udaloy class destroyers Vice-Admiral Kulakov and Admiral Tributs formed their own strike group and executed an anti-submarine exercise. Their search was aided by the use of their Ka-27 ship-borne helicopters.
Both exercises reportedly took place in international waters away from civilian shipping lanes [1].

June 17
Several Russians warships were observed at 0800 on commercial satellite imagery of the port of Tartus, Syria. These vessels included both Improved Kilo class submarines, the Grigorovich class frigate Admiral Grigorovich, logistic support vessel Vice-Admiral Paromov and Aleksandrit class minehunter Vladimir Emelyanov [2].

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