Ihe Russian navy has greatly increased its presence in the Mediterranean since the start of the war in Ukraine and has an “aggressive attitude”, leading to “a risk of an incident”, the Italian navy chief warned on Thursday.
“The immediate effects on our security related to the war in Ukraine have been identified at sea and are visible with the impressive increase in the presence of the Russian fleet in the Mediterranean and in the Black Sea”, affirmed the head of state- Major of the Italian Navy, Admiral Enrico Credendino, quoted by the AGI and Ansa agencies.
“Such a level” of presence of Russian ships “has not been observed even in Cold War times”, he stressed to the members of the Defense Commission of the Chamber of Deputies.
“The high number of Russian ships is not a direct threat to the national territory, but it increases the tension and the Russians have an aggressive attitude. There is a risk of a possible incident and if it happens we don’t know how it can end, ”added the officer.
According to the Italian admiral, the Russian fleet has gone “from a small support ship which was present in 2015 (in the Syrian port, editor’s note) in Tartous” to “fifteen ships and three submarines which were present in the Mediterranean until a few weeks ago.
“The Mediterranean is an area of turbulence, with continuous competition between riparian states for access to economic resources and illegal activities, from smuggling to human trafficking. It must therefore be constantly monitored,” Admiral Credendino concluded.
