Russia (bbabo.net), - Two large landing ships (LDC) and a tanker of the Northern Fleet entered the Mediterranean Sea. The end point of the path is unknown. The ships were tracked by the Spanish Navy.

The large landing craft "Ivan Gren", "Alexander Otrakovsky" and the tanker "Kola" of the Northern Fleet entered the Mediterranean Sea. This became known after a message from the Spanish Ministry of Defense, whose ships accompanied the Russian group along the country’s coast.

“From March 21 to 26, the patrol ships Atalaya and Vigia controlled the passage of the Russian group, formed by the landing ships Ivan Gren, Alexander Otrakovsky and the oil tanker Kola, in the territorial waters of national sovereignty. Both Spanish ships participated in presence, surveillance and deterrence operations under the operational control of the Operational Command and carried out surveillance in shifts,” the ministry said in a statement.

Off the Portuguese coast, Russian ships were accompanied by the frigate Bartolomeu Dias. The Spanish Ministry of Defense reported that the group headed to the Mediterranean Sea. The department’s information is confirmed by the vessels’ AIS data. On March 28, the tanker Cola passes between Tunisia and Italian Sicily.

The Russian Ministry of Defense did not report the launch of the Northern Fleet large landing ship on a long voyage. "Cola" indicates the Egyptian port of Said near the Suez Canal. It is usually designated before passing into the Red Sea and further into the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. It is unknown whether the large landing craft will go through the area where Western coalition ships are located and the Houthis are shelling. Perhaps the ships will carry out operations in the Mediterranean Sea. Passage to the Black Sea for military personnel is closed for the duration of the Northern Military District.

The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that in February, the large landing ship "Alexander Otrakovsky" completed amphibious training tasks in the Gryaznaya Bay of the Kola Bay and carried out artillery firing in the Barents Sea.

“Large landing ships of Project 775 are designed for amphibious landings on unequipped coasts and transport of troops and cargo by sea. They are capable of transporting various types of armored vehicles, including tanks. The ships of this project are the basis of the Russian landing fleet. In the Northern Fleet, they are part of the Arctic group and are successfully used in the seas of the Arctic Ocean,” the department specified.

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