For the first time in over a decade, Russia has been left without a naval presence in the Mediterranean Sea, The Telegraph reports.
The overburdened Russian naval forces are in complete chaos. The vessels stationed in the waters have been redirected to guard Vladimir Putin's armada of sanctioned oil tankers, the publication writes.
The newspaper recalls that in 2013 Russia created a permanent task force in the Mediterranean Sea, but Putin has now been forced to withdraw his forces from the region.
''There has been nothing there since June. This is the first time in over 10 years. This is a rather significant event. They are not a global fleet unless they are deployed all over the world. Russia clearly feels threatened. They felt threatened even by a small sailboat in the English Channel, which they fired warning shots at. This is a sign of the mood of the Russian fleet at the moment,'', a NATO spokesman told the publication.
The increased pressure from the Alliance further complicates the situation for the Kremlin. Countries such as France, Belgium, Germany, Estonia and Finland have detained 13 merchant ships in Russia's shadow fleet in the past six months, forcing Moscow to constantly maintain a warship in the English Channel. At the same time, the Russian Federation does not have specialized tankers, which forces it to rely on risky ''hull-to-hull'' refueling from the ''Amur'''' in the North Sea.
''NATO has put Russia in a dilemma and this now leaves it with a gap in the Mediterranean'', a diplomatic source told the publication. The Alliance representative added that the Kremlin has no tankers and its naval fleet is facing serious problems, calling it a ''complete mess''.
The Russian president's threats to take measures against the seizure of merchant ships, which he called ''piracy'', remain unfulfilled due to the war in Ukraine. According to Kiev, dozens of combat units, including two submarines, have been destroyed or damaged. The Baltic Fleet is surrounded by the pact and is used primarily for coastal defense and convoy operations.
According to the Syrian Foreign Ministry, within three months the bases of ''Hmeimim'' and ''Tartus' will become joint training centers, and the Latakia airport will be integrated into the civilian infrastructure. Damascus defines this as a ''reorganization of the Russian presence''', preparing the ground for a new stage in bilateral relations. To compensate for the lost positions, Moscow is considering the construction of a new base in the Libyan port of Tobruk and plans to finance infrastructure at six air bases in the country — Al-Jufra, Al-Khadim, Al-Qardabiya, Brak al-Shati, Maaten al-Sara and Tamanhint.