Russian forces in the Mediterranean - Wk30/2023

Task Force Composition

As reported by OSINT at the morning of Jul-29

Weekly Brief

The arrival of a US Carrier Task Group (CTG) in the Eastern Mediterranean resulted in the Russian Task Force becoming more active with all warships absent from Tartus by the beginning of the week. The Russians have been confirmed operating at least one vessel, the frigate Admiral Gorshkov, close to the US carrier group. The Buyan-M class corvette Orekhovo-Zuyevo could also be operating close to the US CTG but her presence was not yet verified by OSINT means.

Russian naval activity is expected to remain on a heightened level as long as the US carrier task group operates in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Daily Events

July 24th
Imagery of the port of Tartus showed the presence of the fleet oiler Vyazma, the logistic support vessel Vice-Admiral Paramov and the rescue tug Sergei Balk. All warships appear to be absent [1]

July 25th
Frigate Admiral Gorshkov is believed to be spotted by commercial satellites while operating close to the US Navy carrier task group centered around the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford. The vessels were observed in a location 2225 kilometers southwest of Kalamata [2].

July 27th
Satellite imagery of the port of Tartus showed the absence of frigate Admiral Gorshkov and corvette Orekhovo-Zuyevo [3].

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