The war games will involve anti-submarine, anti-ship and air defense exercises in the Mediterranean, where a group of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet vessels are being deployed.

On December 27, two Russian large landing ships, Nikolai Filchnekov and Azov, passed through the Bosporus and Dardanelles on their way to the eastern Mediterranean where they are to join a Black Sea Fleet detachment, consisting of guard missile cruiser Moskva, patrol ship Smetlivy, tanker Ivan Bubnov and a BS-406 tugboat.