NAVAL INTEREST:

NEWS FLASH: RUSSIAN FLEET ENTERS MEDITERRANEAN BOUND FOR SYRIA

  



At 12:00 GMT yesterday July 23, 2012 eight Russian war ships passed Gibraltar inbound for Syria. These included the ROPUCHA class landing ships ALEXANDER OTRAKOUSKIY, GEORGIY POBUDONOSETS, and the KENDOPOGA believed to be carrying marines. This would give Russia the instant capability of landing ground forces in Syria.The landing ships were accompanied by the Baltic Fleet Frigates YAROSLAV MUDRIY and NEUSTRASIMIY, the salvage tug SB- 921, and the tanker LUNA. These vessels will be joined by  
destroyer SMETLIVIY, landing ships NIKOLAI, and  TSESAR KUNIKOV, and possibly the tanker IVAN BUBNOV and the salvage tug MB-304 from Russia's Black Sea Fleet. The Black Sea landing ships are also suspected of carrying marines. On arrival in Syrian waters this fleet provides Russia with an instant capability to put thousands of Russian troop on the ground in Syria in support of the beleaguered government thwarting NATO, UN, US, Israeli intentions for the region.

SOURCE: American Admiralty Information Services Correspondents (parent organization of American Admiralty Books) quoting Russian language sources and ITAR-Tass Agency. Check our NEWS SERVICE page in this blog for more details.  AAB is not a journalistic organization, we monitor English language maritime news sources for you and some foreign language sources through our organizational net work. Occasional flash alerts are posted to the blog postings, see our News Service Page for daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly news service via hyper-links to the major English language maritime news services and for our own headline service.

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