On Monday, a Russian cargo ship bound for Syria sank in the Mediterranean Sea after an engine room explosion. Ukrainian military intelligence claims the ship was sent to retrieve Russian weapons and military equipment from Syria after the fall of Moscow-backed dictator Bashar al-Assad's regime.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia Confirmed ship named Ursa Major, After passing through the Strait of Gibraltar, it sank in the Mediterranean Sea off southern Spain. Fourteen crew members were rescued and taken to a port in Spain, but two are still missing.
of Ursa Major The ship was the flagship of a Russian shipping company called Oboronlogistika, which frequently carried cargo to the Russian Ministry of Defense. tuesday bloomberg news explained It is “the largest cargo ship belonging to the logistics fleet of the Russian army.”
Oboronlogistika and many of its ships Ursa Major, It was authorized It was awarded by the U.S. Department of State in May 2022 for supporting the resupply of Russian forces involved in the illegal occupation of Crimea.
A press release from Ovoron Logistica claimed that the ship was heading to Vladivostok with two large cranes used in civilian port construction, but it was not intended to be used by Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate (commonly known by its Ukrainian acronym GUR). ) argued that: Ursa Major The plane was actually destined for Syria, where it was supposed to retrieve Russian weapons and military equipment from the port of Tartus.
Tartus is Russia's only refueling port on the Mediterranean Sea. it was originally built It was carried out in 1977 under the regime of Hafez al-Assad, the first Assad dictator, and was left alone after the collapse of the Soviet Union until Russia intervened in the Syrian civil war on behalf of Hafez's son Bashar in 2015.
Russia signed a 49-year lease for the port with President Bashar al-Assad's government in 2019, but the lease appears to have become invalid after Assad's departure. kicked out The victorious Islamic rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has not yet made an official statement on whether it will demand that Russia surrender the Tartus naval base.
of Ursa Major I left from St. Petersburg, Russia, 12 days ago, Russian state media reported. Official maritime records regarding its voyage and destination are confused, as the ship is also known by other names. Sparta III, And it was sailing together with another Russian ship. Sparta.
The Ukrainian intelligence service reported on Monday. Ursa Major The ship broke down off the coast of Portugal, but the damage was repaired and the ship resumed sailing. While sailing between Spain and Algeria, the ship suffered an explosion in its engine room.
Other passing ships posted videos on social media showing the Russian cargo ship listing heavily on its side, staggering along its route and eventually sinking. As of late Tuesday morning, no details about the explosion had been released by Russian or Ukrainian authorities.
