Gordon Barlow

Very interesting...! Might its presence be intended to discourage US troops from invading Venezuela and/or Cuba? Could be.
https://tass.com/defense/1064327

Pulaski

Shouldn't it be in the Arabian Gulf to discourage an invasion of Iran?

Gordon Barlow

You would think! But maybe Russia thinks its Caspian Sea fleet is enough for that. I seem to recall they sent rockets from there to kill off one or two ISIS bases in Syria, last year some time.

Cayman is still getting boatloads of refugees from Cuba calling in here on their way to Honduras (and points north from there), so I wonder if the Russkies could be persuaded to save some of them from a watery death.

caretaker

Delivering mail to the submarines.

carcajou

Did it have a tug following behind "just in case," like many previous Russian flexes of naval power the past 15 years?

Pulaski

Seems odd that it is a lone ship, if that is what it is. When the US sends vessel AFAIK they always send a "group". Obviously the best way to communicate a message through sea power is with a carrier strike group.

caretaker

The article makes clear how many ships are in the group and what they are. The frigate is a bodyguard for the Elbrus, which is probably tapping (or removing taps from) undersea cables.
http://www.navyrecognition.com/index...sian-navy.html