The Russian Navy’s Ropucha-class landing ship Kondopoga crosses the Bosphorus on its way to the Black Sea, in Istanbul, Turkey, April 17, 2021. REUTERS / Yoruk Isik
Two Russian warships passed through the Bosphorus on their way to the Black Sea on Saturday and 15 smaller ships completed a transfer to the sea as Moscow strengthens its presence in the navy at a time of strained relations with the West and Ukraine.
The reinforcement coincides with a massive increase in Russian troops near Ukraine, which Moscow calls a temporary defensive exercise, and follows an escalation in fighting in eastern Ukraine between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian government forces.
Russia’s relations with Washington, which last week canceled the deployment of two of its own warships to the Black Sea following fierce Russian protests, are at an all-time low after the Cold War.
Moscow on Friday expelled 10 US diplomats in retaliation for the expulsion of the same number of Russian diplomats from the United States for alleged malicious activity.
Russia has also temporarily restricted the movement of foreign warships “and other state ships” near Crimea, which it annexed from Ukraine in 2014, a move condemned by both Kiev and Washington.
Two Russian Ropucha-class landing ships from the Russian Northern Fleet, which can carry tanks and provide armor and troops during coastal attacks, passed through the Bosphorus on Saturday, a Reuters reporter in Istanbul noted.
More Russian naval reinforcements in the form of two more landing ships, this time from the Russian Baltic Fleet, are expected to cross the Bosphorus soon.
The RIA news agency also reported on Saturday that 15 smaller ships of the Russian Caspian Flotilla have completed their transfer to the Black Sea as part of an exercise.
In a further sign of heightened tensions in the region, a ship carrying logistics trucks and equipment for NATO forces in Romania sailed through the Bosphorus on Friday evening, the same Reuters reporter saw.
In Saint Petersburg, Russia’s FSB security service briefly detained a Ukrainian diplomat, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday. L1N2MA04O
The Interfax news agency previously quoted the FSB as saying that Oleksandr Sosoniuk had been taken into custody while trying to obtain classified information from Russian law enforcement databases during a meeting with a Russian citizen.
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