BEIRUT, LEBANON (12:45 P.M.) – the Russian Navy has sent another heavily armed ship to the eastern Mediterranean this week, following the arrival of a tank-carrying vessel to the Syrian port of Tartous.
The Russian Navy’s media service said on Thursday that the Admiral Grigorovich frigate left the Black Sea and is now crossing the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits.
It will join the frigate of the Russian naval group that is permanently deployed in the Mediterranean waters off the coast of Syria.
The Russian Navy indicated that the Admiral Grigorovich frigate will replace the Admiral Asen frigate within the Russian naval group in the eastern Mediterranean.
The Admiral Asen frigate joined the group of Russian naval vessels in the Mediterranean in October 2020, but has fulfilled its commitment and length of deployment to the eastern region of the Mediterranean.
The Admiral Grigorovich is one of the units of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea that is able to travel at 30 knots. It is armed it with Kalibr and Shatil 1 missiles, along with the Balach artillery group.
The Russian Navy revealed the capabilities of the Kalibr missiles when it used them to bomb terrorist sites on Syrian territory in 2016 and 2017.
This latest deployment comes at a time of increased friction in the eastern Mediterranean, as both Turkey and Greece have issued threats to one another.
‘Furthermore, Turkey is preparing for a new military operation in northern Syria that will target the strategic town of Ain Al-Issa; this will no doubt cause Moscow to get involved to prevent the clashes from breaking out.
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