Russian ships enter the Red Sea. Headed for the Mediterranean?

The Russian Defense Minister writes that a detachment of warships from the Pacific Fleet (PF), consisting of the missile cruiser “Varyag“ (Slava-class) and the frigate “Marshal Shaposhnikov” (Udaloy-class destroyer, Reclassified as Frigate), has crossed the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and entered the Red Sea.

The Marshal Shaposhnikov has then arrived at Massawa, Eritrea, where it will stay until April 5th, commemorating the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the Russian Federation and Eritrea.

We do not know the current whereabouts of the Varyag.

It is worth noting that the latter was long deployed in the Mediterranean in 2022, and we cannot exclude that indeed the pair of Russian ships is headed to Tartus to reinforce the Russian presence in the Mediterranean, now greatly reduced.