One more Russian warship will be sent to Syria on Friday carrying "special cargo," as Moscow ramps up defense against the possibility of a U.S. strike on Damascus.
Nikolay Filchenkov, a large, amphibious landing ship ported in Sevastopol in Ukraine, will head toward the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiisk, then continue onto the Syrian coast, according to the Agence France Presse.
A central naval source from St. Petersburg told Interfax news service that the ship will be holding some kind of important cargo, but did not specify exactly what it would be.
"The ship will make call in Novorossiisk, where it will take on board special cargo and set off for the designated area of its combat duty in the eastern Mediterranean," the source stated.
The ship will join three other war vessels in the sea-the intelligence ship Priazovye, along with two landing ships Minsk and Novocherkassk, all of which are reportedly on their way. The missile cruiser Moskva, the frigate Neustrashimy and landing ships Alexander Shabalin, Nevelsky and the Peresvet are already stationed in the Mediterranean, waiting on word for further action
Since the Syrian crisis escalated in the recent past, Russia has kept four carriers in the area continuously-every few months, the Kremlin will rotate a few ships out for others.
Some say any U.S. military action against Damascus will commence from the sea.
Russia, one of Syria's main allies, warned the United States at Thursday's G-20 summit that any strikes on Syria would be premature. The Kremlin insisted Washington didn't have enough evidence to prove Syrian President Bashar al-Assad issued orders to use chemical weaponry on men, women and children.
