A new Russian departure from the Mediterranean?

It is likely that on the next days, a Russian submarine, the Krasnodar (B-265), will transit the Strait of Sicily.

The Krasnodar is a Kilo-class submarine, with diesel engines, extremely quiet, and equipped with long-range Kalibr missiles. It is the only Russian submarine that is known to be in the Mediterranean today.

It is believed that the Krasnodar is withdrawing from the Syrian base of Tartus, after two years of activity. The submarine needs maintenance and Turkey prohibits the Russian navy from crossing the Bosphorus. For this reason, the Krasnodar will have to cross the Strait of Gibraltar and reach the ports of the Baltic Sea.

The assessments of its route come from the movements of the tugboat Sergey Balk, which was photographed yesterday by satellites near Crete alongside the silhouette of a submarine. The tugboat will accompany the Krasnodar on its long journey to St. Petersburg.

If this hypothesis is confirmed, the Russian presence in the Mediterranean will remain at its lowest level in years, with only two combat units (two corvettes) present in Tartus and a spy ship.