Russian forces in the Mediterranean - Wk39/2023

Task Force Composition

As reported by OSINT at the morning of Sep-30

Weekly Brief
Steregushchy class corvette Merkury completed a maritime escort mission by escorting the oiler Yaz and weapons runner Ursa Major from Tartus towards the Turkish Straits.

Moma class intelligence collection vessel Kildin was not observed near Tartus. The vessel is most likely on an independent patrol monitoring NATO warships.

The remainder of the task force most likely remained in port during the week.

Daily Events
September 25
Satellite imagery of the port of Tartus revealed several warships moored inside the harbor. These were identified as the Improved Kilo class submarine Krasnodar, the Buyan-M class corvette Orekhovo-Zuyevo, fleet oiler Yelnya, Amur class repair vessel PM-82 and the sea going tug Sergey Balk [1].

September 27
Civilian oiler Yaz and weapons runner Ursa Major were observed being escorted by Steregushchy class corvette Merkury. All three vessels were spotted 31km east by northeast of the Greek island of Mykonos and heading towards the Turkish Straits [2].

September 29
Civilian oiler Yaz and weapons runner Ursa Major passed through the Turkish Straits and entered the Black Sea [3].

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