Successful attacks of Ukrainian maritime kamikaze drones managed to make russian military logistics from Syria many times more difficult. This is indicated by the recently tracked routes of Sparta IV and "Ursa Major, two russian cargo ships owned by Oboronlogistika OOO maritime transportation company. These vessels are traditionally used by the Ministry of Defense of the russian federation to provide supplies for its military contingent in Syria.
According to ItaMilRadar, now instead of a short route from the russian Navy base in port Tartus, Syria, which stretches for approximately 2,500 km through the Bosphorus strait into the Black Sea and then to the port of Novorossiysk, the mentioned ships head across the entire Mediterranean Sea, navigates around Europe via the Atlantic to ultimately reach the Baltic Sea along the route about 9,000 km in total length.
Read more: Ukrainian Naval Drones Denied russian Supply Chain From Mediterranean to Black Sea
In addition, these ships were accompanied by the Yaz tanker; the convoy was also guarded, at least in the Mediterranean Sea, by a Project 11356R Admiral Grigorovich-class frigate. These facts leave no room for doubt about the purpose of such convoys.
The changes to the route are recent and unexpected. In July 2023, for example, russian ships were freely loading weapons in Novorossiysk and sailing to Syria. During one such trip, OSINT researchers recorded the loading of artillery systems into the Sparta IV ship, which later departed for Tartus.
Currently, according to the data provided by MarineTraffic, Sparta IV and Ursa Major have already passed the English Channel and entered the North Sea. The destination ports are Baltiysk and St. Petersburg, respectively.
Worth adding that, apart from transporting military cargo from russia to Syria, these ships can also take weapons out of Syria for further unloading and forwarding to the Ukrainian frontlines.
Read more: 4000 Tanks, 1000 MT-LB Vehicles russia May Still Have to Continue War Against Ukraine
