Russian Navy - News and Analysis

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of Apr-13 Weekly Brief Russia surprisingly acted as a middleman between Syria and Libya by providing the means to deliver artillery from Syria to the Haftar regime in eastern Libya. The move is surprising because of the huge artillery losses Russia is suffering in Ukraine for over a year now. The clear motives behind this act are unclear and can range from Russia seeking to strengthen its position across Africa by propping up regimes or from Syria deciding to rather support Libya then Russia with military equipment.  Daily Events April 06 Amphibious landing vessels Alexander Otrakovsky and Ivan Gren departed the port of Tartus, Syria [ 1 ]. April 08 Frigate Admiral Grigorovich reportedly provided an escort for the amphibious landing vessels Alexander Otrakovsky and Ivan Gren as they passed between Cyprus and Greece [ 1 ]. Both amphibious landing vessels reportedly arrived in the Port of Tobruk, Libya to offload artillery [ 2 ].

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of Apr-06 Weekly Brief Activity of the task force has increased significantly following the influx of Northern and Pacific Fleet warships. The coming days will create clarity of Russia is restarting the Syrian Express runs, this time between Tartus and Saint Petersburg, in earnest. Amphibious landing vessel Ivan Gren was last observed in Tartus either unloading or being loaded. Slava class cruiser Varyag arrived in the Mediterranean while the Udaloy class destroyer Marshal Shaposhnikov completed a port visit in Eritrea. The destroyer might enter the Mediterranean somewhere around April 5th or 6th, given the presence of fleet oiler Kama at Alexandria. Often fleet oiler linger near the Suez canal to be ready to refuel and escort Russian warships coming from the Red Sea.  Frigate Admiral Grigorovich, Improved Kilo class submarine Ufa and intelligence collection vessel Kildin were not observed at Tartus during the week. There where

On March 20th, 2024; Russia's Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu announced the creation of a so-called Dnieper Flotilla with a brigade of river boats by the end of 2024 [ 1 ]. The exact size and composition of the flotilla was not disclosed at this point, leaving a lot of room for speculation. At this point the declaration to create a Dnieper Flotilla fits within Russia's plans to expand its military organization and further cement its presence in Ukraine and dominance of the Black Sea.  Naval units and tactics Current publications indicate that the Dnieper Flotilla will be equipped with smaller craft operated by Russia's naval forces such as assault and patrol boats and will not include larger vessels such as corvettes or patrol craft such as the Bykov class. Assault and patrol boats can give the Dnieper Flotilla the necessary maneuverability in the maritime domain to protect the entrance of the Dnieper River as well as patrol the approaches of Crimea. 120 Nautical Mile ran

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of Mar-30 Weekly Brief Three vessels of the Northern Fleet have entered the Mediterranean in what will most likely be a Syrian Express run transporting military equipment and munitions from the Middle East towards Russia, most likely via Saint Petersburg. Being forced to take the longer route due to Ukrainian drone attacks in the Black Sea, an increase in shipping is needed to secure a steady flow of arms across the Syrian Express. Striking is the fact that frigate Admiral Grigorovich was used to escort the civilian merchants used as weapon runners but did not linger around the Strait of Gibraltar to escort the Northern Fleet detachment. If this pattern becomes the new norm, then the presence of Russian surface vessels in the Western Mediterranean can be used as a marker to indicate the passage of weapon runners. A detachment of the Pacific Fleet, composed of Slava class cruiser Varyag and Udaloy class frigate Marshal Shaposnik

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of Mar-23 Weekly Brief Frigate Admiral Grigorovich was observed near Algiers in the beginning of the week after having escorted two weapon runners and a civilian tanker out of the Mediterranean. It is unclear if the frigate returned to Tartus directly or lingers in the area in anticipation of the landing ships Otrakovsky and Ivan Grenn. Both vessels left the Northern Fleet and were reported in the Bay of Biscay on March 20 together with the fleet oiler Kola [ a ]. It looks like that Russia is restarting the Syrian Express, most likely transporting weapons and ammunition out of the Middle East back to Russia. Closure of the Turkish Straits means that the vessels will have to take the long route around Europe. Intelligence collection vessel Kildin was observed in port, having eluded OSINT reporting for the past four months. Daily Events March 17 Satellite imagery of the port of Tartus revealed the presence of the corvettes Merkur

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of Mar-16 Weekly Brief A significant change in operations was observed halfway the week with two weapon runners and a civilian oiler departing the Mediterranean through the Strait of Gibraltar. Weapons runners Sparta IV and Ursa Major, together with oiler Yaz usually operate between Syria and Southern Russia but are now observed heading to Saint Petersburg instead. Most likely, these vessels are deviating from their well  established patterns as a result of the growing threat of Ukrainian drones to Russian shipping in the Black Sea. Given the fact that all three vessels are important in sustaining Russia's war efforts, loss of these vessels would grind weapon transports and transfer of fuel to a halt. The deviation of all three vessels to head towards Saint Petersburg is also taking place as new leadership is appointed to the Russian Navy and could be an indication that the new leadership is making a more balanced decision