After the fall of the Assad regime, the russian federation was able to take its military equipment and weapons from the Syrian port of Tartus, as evidenced by satellite images. Once packed with hundreds of vehicles, the berths are now almost completely empty.
This is evidenced by satellite images of this naval base published by Radio Liberty.
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This occurred after two Ro-Ro vessels entered the Syrian port: Sparta, which is still in the port, and Sparta II, which departed on Monday, January 27. Both vessels are owned by Oboronlogistics, an enterprise of the russian Defense Ministry.
On behalf of Defense Express, we note that Sparta II is currently south of Cyprus, heading 269°, according to MarineTraffic. The destination of the route is currently unknown. Among the possible options are a return to the Baltic Sea or a move to a potential new base in Libya, which is currently divided and at risk of a third civil war.
At the same time, the possibility that russia will attempt to move these ships through the Bosphorus Strait and the Black Sea to its nearest ports, such as Novorossiysk, is highly questionable. The issue is not just that Turkey could block their passage, but that they would become the number one target for Ukrainian maritime drones.
Moreover, even passage through the Mediterranean Sea can be dangerous for russian vessels. It is worth recalling that on December 24, the russian Ministry of Defense lost the Ursa Major vessel, which was slightly smaller than the Moskva cruiser.
Earlier Defense Express reported that russia had withdrawn its only submarine-kalibr missile carrier from Tartus.
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