Moskva, the symbol of Russia’s naval power, was famously destroyed in April, during the ongoing war in Ukraine. Its sister ship, Marshall Ustinov, is still standing. After six months in the Mediterranean, it suddenly left the area, together with the Udaloy-class destroyer named Vice-Admiral Kulakov, and the Vyazma tanker that’s in charge of refueling both of them.
HMS Westminster, HMS Lancaster and HMS Richmond (all three of them Type 23 frigates) have kept a close eye on the Russian task group that departed from the eastern Mediterranean, apparently on their way back to Russia.
Two weeks ago, Marshall Ustinov left the area where it had been stationed for the past six months, and two American destroyers, USS Cole and USS Bainbridge, part of the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, were immediately on its tail. Working closely with their NATO allies, the British Royal Navy’s warships also jumped into action.
HMS Lancaster and HMS Westminster shadowed the three vessels as they made their way from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Celtic Sea, while HMS Richmond took over things in the English Channel.
All of them used highly-advanced sensors and other advanced naval technologies to monitor the Russian ships as they were shadowing them. According to the Royal Navy, the task group took a break in the Celtic Sea, so that Vyazma could refuel the Marshall Ustinov cruiser.
There were no incidents during the monitoring operation carried out by the three Royal Navy frigates.
RTS Marshal Ustinov is a Slava-class ship that’s 611.7-foot-long (186.5 meters), equipped with modern Vulcan anti-ship missiles that replaced the older P-500 Bazalt weapons. Like its sister ship that sank after being blasted by missiles, Marshall Ustinov also has an extensive history, as it was commissioned back in 1982.
Experts speculate that the sudden departure from the Mediterranean might be motivated by the lack of Russian infrastructure in the area, which is making maintenance and refueling more difficult, after a deployment that’s already lasted for six months.
Two weeks ago, Marshall Ustinov left the area where it had been stationed for the past six months, and two American destroyers, USS Cole and USS Bainbridge, part of the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, were immediately on its tail. Working closely with their NATO allies, the British Royal Navy’s warships also jumped into action.
HMS Lancaster and HMS Westminster shadowed the three vessels as they made their way from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Celtic Sea, while HMS Richmond took over things in the English Channel.
All of them used highly-advanced sensors and other advanced naval technologies to monitor the Russian ships as they were shadowing them. According to the Royal Navy, the task group took a break in the Celtic Sea, so that Vyazma could refuel the Marshall Ustinov cruiser.
There were no incidents during the monitoring operation carried out by the three Royal Navy frigates.
RTS Marshal Ustinov is a Slava-class ship that’s 611.7-foot-long (186.5 meters), equipped with modern Vulcan anti-ship missiles that replaced the older P-500 Bazalt weapons. Like its sister ship that sank after being blasted by missiles, Marshall Ustinov also has an extensive history, as it was commissioned back in 1982.
Experts speculate that the sudden departure from the Mediterranean might be motivated by the lack of Russian infrastructure in the area, which is making maintenance and refueling more difficult, after a deployment that’s already lasted for six months.