Russian ship supplying Russian troops in Syria sinks in the Mediterranean Sea

The Russian merchant ship Ursa Major sank in the Mediterranean Sea between Spain and Algeria after an explosion.

This is what El Español and La Verdad write about.

Two crew members are missing. Another 14 sailors were rescued and taken to the Spanish city of Cartagena. This was also confirmed by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

According to media reports, on December 23, an explosion occurred in the shipʼs engine room as the Ursa Major was heading east toward the Strait of Gibraltar. The ship then veered off course and began to list. The area was declared unsafe for navigation until a Russian warship arrived to take charge of the rescue.

Several vessels fishing in the same area participated in the rescue operation, and later specialists from the Spanish maritime rescue service joined in.

The captain of the Ursa Major said the vessel was carrying containers that were empty at the time of the accident. The vessel left the port of St. Petersburg on December 11 and was heading to Vladivostok, where it was scheduled to arrive on January 22.

The Russian media Mediazona notes that the dry cargo ships Sparta and Ursa Major have been transporting cargo for the so-called Syrian Express for many years, a supply route for Russian troops in Syria.

On the eve, OSINT analysts noticed that five Russian cargo ships had entered the Mediterranean Sea: three large military landing ships and two dry cargo ships belonging to the Oboronlogistika company. Analysts assumed that all five ships were intended for the evacuation of the Russian bases in Syria, Tartus and Khmeymim.

What preceded this

On December 8, the Syrian opposition entered the Syrian capital, Damascus, and declared that it had overthrown the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

Syrian rebels have already begun forming a transitional government — it will be headed by Muhammad al-Bashir, who headed the "Salvation Government" — a political structure created in 2017 in territories controlled by the Syrian opposition, primarily in the province of Idlib.

Meanwhile, Russia is negotiating with the new Syrian government to maintain military bases there, and is also withdrawing its military contingent from the country.

The leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel group and de facto leader of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa (better known as Muhammad al-Julani), has said that the country is exhausted by war and poses no threat to its neighbors or the West. He is calling for the lifting of international sanctions on Syria, as they were imposed against the regime of Bashar al-Assad, which has already fallen.