The combat capability of Russia’s naval task force in the Mediterranean will increase following the first deliveries of Varshavyanka-class submarines to the Black Sea Fleet in 2015, Navy Commander Admiral Viktor Chirkov said.
Russia formed a permanent naval task force in the Mediterranean last year to defend its interests in the region. The move was widely seen, however, as a response to calls for international intervention in the worsening civil war in Syria, Russia’s longtime ally.
