Russia Withdraws from Syria: Naval Fleet Leaves Eastern Mediterranean

Almost two months ago, the Assad regime in Syria fell, leaving Russia without a key ally in the eastern Mediterranean.

Since then, Russia has no longer been able to rely on the naval base in Tartus, and for nearly two months, its military units have been patrolling off the Syrian coast, waiting to see how the situation would evolve.

At the same time, a series of transport ships and tankers headed to Tartus to load Russian equipment for repatriation following Russia’s withdrawal from Syria. However, these ships also had to wait several weeks before being allowed to enter the Syrian port and load the equipment bound for Russia.

A few days ago, the ships finally left Syria, heading west. The final destination remains uncertain—some speculate they may make a stop in Libya—but the significant detail is that all the civilian vessels are being escorted by the entire Russian naval contingent previously stationed in Syria.

🇷🇺Med Sea Flotilla🇷🇺
Spotted on Landsat 8-9 on 29 January 2025, ~208 km SE 🇬🇷Crete

Majority of the Med Sea Flotilla can be seen escorting Sparta and Sparta II after vacating their base in Tartus

Intelligence ship Kildin seems to be absent (reports of a fire onboard) pic.twitter.com/TzdXrDsaUd

— MT Anderson (@MT_Anderson) January 30, 2025

The following vessels are currently at sea:

• Admiral Grigorovich – frigate
• Admiral Golovko – frigate
• Ivan Gren – landing ship
• Alexander Otrakovsky – landing ship
• Sparta – RoRo cargo
• Sparta II – RoRo cargo
• General Skobelev – tanker
• Vyazma – tanker

🚨🚨🚨📸EXCLUSIVE PICTURES, 🇷🇺General SKOBOLEV, 🇷🇺Alexandr OTRAKOVSKY, 🇷🇺Admiral GRIGOROVITCH, 🇷🇺IVAN GREN and 🇷🇺RO-RO SPARTA II set sail 🌊after weeks of uncertain, for unknown destination.
Is 🇷🇺RO-RO SPARTA still in Tartus?
Is she awaiting the arrival of 🇷🇺RO-RO SPARTA IV🤔? pic.twitter.com/mH9rbodYet

— Russian Forces Spotter (@TiaFarris10) January 30, 2025

It remains to be seen whether the Russian flotilla will completely abandon the Mediterranean or reposition itself in other ports—Libyan ports are at the top of the list. However, it is significant that all Russian units have now left Syria and the eastern Mediterranean waters.

The only vessel still present in the area is the Kildin, which reportedly suffered a fire and may be experiencing difficulties in following the rest of the fleet.