The S-300 surface-to-air missile system was allegedly moved by Russia from Syria to the Black Sea in order to bolster the fight in Ukraine, according to satellite images.
In 2018, Russian S-300 missiles were shipped to Syria to aid Syrian President Bashar Al-forces. Assad’s Syria’s air defence system is said to need an upgrade, and the S-300 is one option.
However, unlike many other crucial resources to safeguard Russian interests, the S-300 is not housed in the Russian airbase in Latakia or the Russian naval port in Tartus. Instead, the S-300 missile from Russia is stationed inland and is in charge of guarding crucial Syrian targets.
Private intelligence firm ImageSat Intl published photos on August 26 demonstrating the absence of S-300 missiles from the garrison near Masyaf, Syria. The Sparta II supply ship is waiting nearby, and the ImageSat image reveals that the Russian missile complex’s vehicles are carefully arranged at the Tartus naval facility.
According to specialist HI Sutton of Navalnews.com, the Sparta II did not remain in the port of Tartus for a very long time. The US imposed sanctions on the Russian ship. This ship, known for its military hardware, entered the Black Sea on August 24 by transiting the Bosporus Strait overnight. A video of the Russian ship entering the Black Sea was shared online by renowned ship-monitoring expert Yörük Işk.
Before the ship arrived in Crimea on August 27, satellite monitoring images showed it was close to Novorossiysk, a significant base of the Russian Navy’s Black Sea Fleet, and less than 160 kilometres away.
In the early stages of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, The Drive points out that Turkey blocked the Turkish Strait to warships in accordance with the Montreux Convention of 1936. It is unclear how the Sparta II, which was carrying Russian military equipment, managed to pass.
The advanced S-300PMU-2 (NATO designator: SA-20B Gargoyle) missile complex near Masyaf, which is thought to be the case, is alleged to have fired on Israeli Air Force fighters during the air raid. On May 13, Israel attacked Syria.
After an outdated Syrian S-200 missile shot down a Russian Il-20 Coot surveillance plane over the eastern Mediterranean in a Russian airstrike, Russia sent surface-to-air missiles into Syria in 2018. Israel invaded Latakia and massacred the crew.
