Reuters energy correspondent. Covering Turkey, the Gulf and the wider Middle East. Londonlover. Personal account.
Istanbul/Ankara
3h
Turkish TVs reporting #Russian war ships crossing through the Bosphorus to Med #Syria pic.twitter.com/gdcp0yobwj
Something about the report looks a bit screwy. The online sources that I have found show Russia as having disposed of all the ships of the Kiev class, including the Minsk. If true, then someone got confused in their ship spotting. Or, has Russia named another ship after the city of Minsk? The Novocherkassk looks like a very interesting ship, having bow doors as well as a well deck. The Priazovye [ http://www.shipspotting.com/modules/myalbum/photo-35924-PRIAZOVYE+(SSV-201) ] looks like it has a full range of antennae and the size to keep it on station for an extended length of time.
Here’s an earlier report:
http://rt.com/news/russian-destroyer-mediterranean-report-424/
A large anti-submarine ship named “Admiral Panteleyev” reportedly arrived in the east Mediterranean Sea to join the Russian standing naval force as flagship. It comes shortly before the scheduled rotation of two Russian landing craft carriers in the area.
The Russian Navy destroyer left the Far-Eastern port city of Vladivostok on March 19 and arrived in the designated area of the eastern Mediterranean on Wednesday, according to sources cited by Interfax and RIA Novosti.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said that large landing craft carriers “Novocherkassk” and “Minsk” of Russia’s Black and Baltic Sea Fleets have been dispatched to the area, and will join the permanent Mediterranean naval force on September 5-6 in accordance with the earlier planned schedule.
A General Staff source told Itar-Tass that reconnaissance ship “Priazovye” also headed to the area to aid in monitoring the situation in the region.
A senior Russian Navy Main Staff source also told Interfax that guided missile cruiser “Moskva” will be the next vessel arriving in the Mediterranean to replace “Admiral Panteleyev” as flagship.
Reuters energy correspondent. Covering Turkey, the Gulf and the wider Middle East. Londonlover. Personal account.
Istanbul/Ankara
3h
Turkish TVs reporting #Russian war ships crossing through the Bosphorus to Med #Syria pic.twitter.com/gdcp0yobwj