The Varyag left the Mediterranean

We know well that, while the Strait of Gibraltar is well “guarded” by numerous spotters and OSINT, the Suez Canal remains a black hole, both for entering and exiting the Mediterranean.

This time, however, thanks to the work of MT Anderson, we have a satellite image capturing the Russian Navy cruiser Varyag (Slava class) and the frigate Shaposhnikov (Udaloy class) transiting through the Suez Canal towards the Red Sea.

🇷🇺Varyag & Shaposhnikov🇷🇺
Spotted on Sentinel 2, 16 July 2024, transiting the Suez canal southbound towards the Red Sea

Appears that Slava Class Varyag & Udaloy Class Shaposhnikov are headed home to the Pacific Fleet in the far east@KaptainLOMA @MrFrantarelli @The_Lookout_N pic.twitter.com/tRvivUg0RC

— MT Anderson (@MT_Anderson) July 17, 2024

The two units, part of the Pacific fleet, are evidently returning to their area of operation. Initially, it was believed that the two ships were headed for a promotional tour in South America, but evidently, plans have changed.

Since entering the Mediterranean at the beginning of April, the ships have limited themselves to a few courtesy visits (in Egypt and Libya), restricting their operational use to some exercises. Most of their time has been spent in Tartus or in the far eastern Mediterranean.

The times when Russian ships ventured into the Ionian or Adriatic seas seem distant, even though this happened just two years ago.