Another Russian Navy unit leaves the Mediterranean

Today the Russian Navy’s intelligence ship “Yuri Ivanov” left the Mediterranean: the ship crossed the Strait of Gibraltar in the early afternoon.
The Yuri Ivanov had arrived in the Mediterranean in early January.

The Yuri Ivanov-class (Project 18280) is a fleet composed of two intelligence-gathering vessels that were constructed to fulfill the specific mission requirements of the Russian Navy. The design of these vessels was developed by OJSC Central Design Bureau Iceberg, and they were built by JSC Shipbuilding Plant Severnaya Verf.

Equipped with advanced antennae and electronics, the vessels have been designed to offer a range of capabilities to the Russian Naval Forces, including intelligence-gathering, surveillance, electronic warfare, command and control, communications, fleet management, and signals intelligence.

Additionally, these vessels have the capability to detect and track air defense missile systems.

After this departure, the Russian Navy’s presence in the Mediterranean is further reduced, to the lowest since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.

As of today, therefore, the units of the Russian Navy present in the Mediterranean should be:

• Frigate Admiral Gorshkov, armed with hypersonic missiles
• Corvette Orekhovo-Zuyevo
• Minesweeper Vladimir Emelyanov
• Krasnodar Kilo-class submarine