According to foreign journalists, in early September, the large anti-submarine ship "Admiral Levchenko" of Project 1155, along with three support vessels – "Akademik Pashin" of Project 23130, the multi-purpose supply vessel "Sparta," and the tanker "General Skobelev" – were allegedly spotted in the port of Tartus.
The Le Figaro article claims that the presence of support vessels may indicate a long-term stay rather than a simple transit.
The authors of the article also link this visit to the recent arrival in Damascus of an An-124 "Ruslan" transport aircraft from Vnukovo Airport, which some monitoring resources had previously reported.
It should be noted that the Russian Ministry of Defence has not officially commented on the information from the French press and has not reported the arrival of the naval group in Tartus.
The "Admiral Levchenko" is armed with the Rastrub-B anti-submarine missile system, two Kinzhal SAM systems, 100-mm AK-100 artillery mounts, and 30-mm AK-630 automatic cannons.