Being in the Black Sea should supply sufficient range to hit the bad guys. The Mediterranean doesn’t really advance the chess game.
That depends on which chess game we’re talking about. If the report is accurate, it does serve a purpose. What does Russia gain from “helping” Assad? Iran is the other would-be “friend” of Assad, and has just been empowered by the deal with the US to possibly offer even greater and more decisive assistance to Assad. Possibly Putin sees his window of opportunity closing to gain proxy control of Syria, with all that implies for the rather complex chess game of advancing Russia’s energy markets. In which case a bit of brazen nuclear saber-rattling might be effective for the target demographic.
Peace,
SR