Naval News – At around 28,000 tons Russia’s Kirov-class is the largest and most heavily armed surface combatant in the World. One of these Soviet-era steel titans, Admiral Nakhimov, has recently emerged from a decade-long and hugely expensive modernization, ready to take her place as the pride of the modern Russian Navy. Yet in the meantime drone warfare, like we are seeing the Black Sea, is challenging this investment. But the money has already been spent.

CIMSEC – NATO should not underestimate Russia’s strategic brown water capabilities. The same applies to Japan and South Korea in the event that Moscow, contrary to current indications, intends to use the Amur as a launch area to defend the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk. Therefore, it is essential to prepare doctrinally, enhance surveillance techniques, and develop effective countermeasures. This will require more unconventional thinking—for example, the dropping of sea mines, USVs and UUVs from the air or the arming of partisans with portable anti-ship missiles such as the Swedish RBS-17. New doctrine and capabilities can effectively account for this important yet underappreciated dimension of Russian naval influence.

Army Recognition – According to Izvestia, Russia’s Project 09851 nuclear-powered submarine Khabarovsk could begin sea trials in 2026 following completion of outfitting work at the Sevmash shipyard. Designed as a dedicated carrier for the Poseidon nuclear-powered unmanned underwater vehicle, the Khabarovsk was launched in November 2025 and has since entered mooring test preparations.

(Thanks to Alain)

The War Zone – There are longstanding rumors that the Project 23700 class ship may have a secondary function as a luxurious leisure vessel.

Le Parisien – Is the mystery surrounding the sinking of the Ursa Major about to be solved? A little over a year ago, this Russian cargo ship had sunk into international waters, somewhere between Spain and Algeria. On December 23, 2024, the ship was hit by three explosions in the engine room, a “terrorist attack”, according to its owner, the company Oboronloguistika under the Russian Ministry of Defense. Two sailors were then reported missing.

This cargo ship, under US sanctions since 2022, had left St. Petersburg two weeks earlier and was to reach the port of Vladivostok, located in the Russian Far East. At the time, Oboronloguistika had explained that the ship carried mostly empty containers, Liebherr cranes, as well as hatch covers for icebreakers. But according to the investigation by the Spanish authorities, revealed by the media La Verdad, the latter are in fact the envelopes of two VM-4SG nuclear reactors of nearly 65 tons each.

(In French) (Thanks to Alain)

The Guardian – Russia has dispatched naval assets to escort a “shadow fleet” oil tanker being pursued by the US across the Atlantic, according to reports, as tensions over the vessel escalate.

Sri Lanka Guardian – British defence officials have revealed that Russian submarines are being deployed alongside the Moscow-based spy vessel Yantar to monitor and potentially sabotage critical undersea infrastructure near the UK, according to a report in Times UK. The operations, first observed in November last year, included a submarine shadowing the Yantar as it surveyed a gas pipeline connecting Britain and Ireland.

(Thanks to Alain)

Militarnyi – Russia has expanded the 336th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade, based in Baltiysk, Kaliningrad region, between Poland and Lithuania, into a division.

(Thanks to Alain)

The War Zone – A Russian Shahed kamikaze drone strike on a ship in the port of Chornomorsk was in retaliation for a recent spate of Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea, the Ambrey maritime security firm tells us. The attack on the Turkish-owned CENK-T roll-on, roll-off cargo ship comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned he would “cut Ukraine off from the sea” in response to Ukraine’s stepped-up campaign against Russian commercial shipping. 

The New Arab – Sudan’s government has offered Russia its first naval base in Africa, in exchange for arms, as the military continues to battle the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a renegade militia that Moscow initially supported.

(Thanks to Alain)

The War Zone – Russian-owned oil tanker was attacked in the Black Sea about 80 miles north of the Turkish city of Sinop, according to Turkish and Russian authorities. The strike was “highly likely” carried out by aerial drones, according to the Ambrey maritime security firm. The attack on the Midvolga-2 was the third against Russian-connected ships in the Black Sea in the past three days and came a day after Turkish President Recep Erdogan issued a stark warning that the war in Ukraine was spilling over and endangering navigation.

EuroMaiden – Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service reports that the Kremlin has announced a suspension of agreements to establish a naval logistics base in Port Sudan. The base was intended to become Russia’s first full-scale naval facility in Africa since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The suspension highlights Moscow’s limited resources for expanding overseas military infrastructure, as it focuses virtually all of its capabilities on the war in Ukraine.

(Thanks to Alain)

The Guardian – A Russian spy ship has entered British waters and shone lasers at military pilots, the defence secretary has said, as he warned the UK was facing a “new era of threat” from hostile countries.

National Interest – Russia’s “Harmony” project is the latest salvo in the battle between underwater access and anti-access efforts. The United States will need new innovations of its own to fight back.

CBS News – The U.S. Coast Guard said it detected and tracked a Russian military spy ship just miles off the coast of Hawaii, the latest incident of a Russian vessel or plane operating close to the U.S.

(Thanks to Alain)

Covert Shores – After a painfully long wait, the Russian submarine Khabarovsk has finally emerged from its construction shed in Severodvinsk. The Pr. 09851 class boat is the second Poseidon carrying submarine in the Russian Navy, following the Pr. 09852 Belgorod. Khabarovsk is a smaller submarine better optimized to the role of carrying Poseidon. 

The War Zone – According to the Russian leader, the test saw the mysterious weapon launched from a submarine and traveling under nuclear propulsion.

The New Voice of Ukraine – A large Russian Navy landing ship has anchored off Germany’s Baltic coast, sparking concern among NATO states already wary of repeated Russian incursions into allied airspace, according to DW.

(Thanks to Alain)

The Barents Observer – Two Russian vessels suspiciously zigzag in the Norwegian Sea, near the area of the ongoing German Maritime Firing Exercise.

Naval News – The Russian submarine Novorossiysk, an Improved Kilo-class vessel, has been forced to limp home to the Baltic after a mechanical failure in the Mediterranean. While some reports exaggerated its plight, the incident exposes the Russian Navy’s declining presence in the region. Since losing its Syrian base at Tartus in 2024 and facing restrictions on movement through the Bosporus, Russia’s Mediterranean task force has largely collapsed. The Novorossiysk’s troubles highlight mounting maintenance issues and the broader erosion of Moscow’s naval reach in the Mediterranean.

Defense News – NATO officials have been tracking a decrease in Russia’s naval presence in the Mediterranean, which officials have attributed to readiness problems and the Baltic Sea and High North regions demanding greater attention in Moscow’s eyes.

Reuters – Russian warships have repeatedly sailed on collision courses, aimed weapons at Danish naval vessels and disrupted navigation systems in Denmark’s straits that connect the Baltic Sea to the North Sea, its defence intelligence service said on Friday.

(Thanks to Alain)

Politico – Russian-linked vessels are continuing to leak oil off Europe’s shores — despite Western sanctions — underscoring the continent’s inability to rein in Moscow’s so-called shadow fleet.

USNI News – A Russian Navy Borei-class ballistic missile submarine was spotted for the first time transiting the La Perouse Strait on Wednesday, according to Japanese officials.

ItaMilRadar – The Russian Navy submarine Novorossiisk, accompanied by the tug Iakov Grebelskii, has arrived in the port of Algiers as part of the ongoing military cooperation between Algeria and Russia.

(Thanks to Alain)