Russia sends missile ships to Syria after US airstrike threat
The Russian Navy has deployed at least two more large missile ships to Syrian waters amid renewed US threats to strike Damascus over chemical weapons.
"The Admiral Grigorovich and Admiral Essen destroyers are making their way from the Sevastopol military port to the Mediterranean. The two warships arrived in the area off the coast of Syria on the evening of August 25 to strengthen the combat force in the Mediterranean," TASS reported on August 25, citing an announcement from the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
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| Russian military destroyer Admiral Grigorovich. Photo: TASS |
During the move, the Russian destroyers conducted many combat exercises. Notable among them was the detection and tracking of enemy submarines using Ka-27PL anti-submarine helicopters.
Admiral Grigorovich and Admiral Essen are two large missile destroyers of Project 11356PM developed by Russia, assigned to the Black Sea Fleet in 2016. Each ship is 125 m long, 15 m wide and has a displacement of 3,850 tons.
These ships appeared in the Mediterranean to conduct terrorist airstrikes in 2017 and 2018. The main weapons of the two ships are Kalibr multi-purpose cruise missiles and 8 vertical launch tubes capable of using P-800 Oniks supersonic anti-ship missiles and a series of advanced air defense weapons.
The deployment comes as the Syrian government prepares to launch a major offensive on Idlib province, the last major rebel stronghold in Syria. However, the operation is facing great risk as the US has once again threatened to strike Syria if chemical weapons are found to have been used.
Russia said the US even sent the destroyer USS The Sulliavans to the Persian Gulf along with a B-1B Lancer strategic bomber carrying 24 AGM-159 JASSM long-range cruise missiles to Qatar's Al Udeid base. Washington has twice conducted airstrikes on Syria, accusing it of chemical attacks despite having no evidence.
