Authors of the Russian Forces Spotter OSINT-research community draw attention to an "unprecedented delivery" of artillery equipment from the russian naval base in Tartus, Syria, to the Libyan port of Tobruk.
Neither the type of artillery equipment nor its quantity is mentioned but the researchers note that this express continued from April 4th to 8th, 2024, the batches were carried by two landing craft of the Northern Fleet of russian Navy: Aleksandr Otrakovsky of Project 775 (Ropucha class) and Ivan Gren of Project 11711, both entered the Mediterranean Sea two weeks ago.
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Interestingly, escorting the convoy was the Admiral Grigorovich frigate of Project 11356 that has been struck in the Mediterranean since February 2022 and could not return to its home base in russian-occupied Crimea.
Another ship tagging along was the Mercuriy missile corvette of Project 2230 Steregushchiy class. Like the frigate mentioned above, Mercuriy formally belongs to the Black Sea Fleet, too, but it was under construction in St. Petersburg until last summer, so it cannot go through Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits either, due to Turkiye's policy.
The contents of the russian supplies to Libya are uncertain, they cannot be reliably discerned from the satellite photos provided by Russian Forces Spotter showing the loading of equipment onto russian ships in Tartus from March 30th to April 4th, 2024.
In general, the episode raises concerns about a new point of tension being proactively created by the russian federation in the Middle East. Military actions breaking out in the region may have an impact on global oil prices.
Worth mentioning, the shipment of military cargo from Syria to Libya takes place barely a month after russia had demonstrated it no longer risks carrying weapons across the Black Sea, opting for a detour via the Atlantic instead.
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