Russia has reportedly withdrawn all submarines from its Tartus naval base in Syria – Russia’s only port in the Mediterranean Sea.
Moscow has maintained a permanent military presence at the Tartus naval base alongside the Khmeimim Air Base further north in Syria since 2017 under an agreement with the ousted Assad regime.
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Naval News said Russia’s Novorossiysk (B-61) submarine departed Tartus on Jan. 2, whose movement through the Strait of Gibraltar, the gate out of the Mediterranean Sea toward the Atlantic Ocean, was confirmed by the Portuguese Navy on Jan. 4.
The publication asserted that it is unclear if the departure was part of a planned rotation. However, it noted that no submarines have been deployed in Tartus at present.
Citing naval expert Frederik Van Lokeren, who keeps a log of Russian vessels in the Mediterranean, Naval News said, “there has always been a Russian Kilo-class submarine deployed” in Tartus in the past despite “brief gaps in submarine deployments.”
It added that the Novorossiysk’s potential replacements, the Krasnodar (B-265) or possibly the Mozhaisk (B-608), departed the Baltic Sea on Dec. 31 but have yet to reach the English Channel en route to the Mediterranean, and it is unclear if they would continue to do so.
On Jan. 3, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence (HUR) claimed that other Russian vessels were inbound toward Tartus to help redeploy troops and equipment to Libya in North Africa.
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The Kremlin has said that it is in touch with Syria’s new authorities on potentially maintaining its military presence in the country, the future of which remains uncertain.
A Ukrainian delegation arrived in Syria for talks on Dec. 30, during which the new Syrian foreign minister said Damascus wishes to build “strategic partnerships” with Ukraine and noted “the same suffering” between the two nations.
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