On their return to Russia, the cruiser RFS Varyag (011) and the frigate RFS Marshal Shaposhnikov (543) were tracked by the Japan Self-Defense Forces to their home port in Vladivostok.
A statement from the Joint Staff Office (JSO) on Tuesday claimed that at 4 a.m. that day, the two Russian ships were sighted navigating in an area 37 miles southwest of Iriomote Island, and then proceeded northeast through the waters between the aforementioned island and Yonaguni Island, heading toward the East China Sea.
The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) tanker JS Mashu (AOE-425) conducted the monitoring of the Russian vessels, stating that they passed by Japan on Wednesday. Additionally, the multipurpose vessel JS Amakusa (AMS-4303) also provided support in monitoring the Russian ships.
“At 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, the Varyag and Marshal Shaposhnikov were observed heading northeast in an area 68 miles southwest of Tsushima, and subsequently, from Wednesday to Thursday, the two Russian ships navigated northeast through the Tsushima Strait into the Sea of Japan,” the JSO statement reads.
It is worth noting that the Varyag and Marshal Shaposhnikov departed Vladivostok on January 22nd bound for the Middle East and the Mediterranean. During this seven-month deployment, the Varyag traveled a total of 28,000 nautical miles and the Marshal Shaposhnikov 32,000.
Both ships also participated in the multinational naval exercise Milan 2024 hosted by the Indian Navy in February, and in trilateral exercises with Iran and China in the Gulf of Oman in March, before arriving in the Mediterranean on April 1st after transiting the Suez Canal.
You may also like: The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force detected one of the new Type 075 amphibious assault ships of the Chinese Navy in the Western Pacific
