A Russian attack submarine that was stationed in Syria has officially left the Mediterranean Sea.
The departure of the Kilo-class Novorossiysk leaves Russia without any known submarines in the region.
The uncertain fate of Russia’s naval presence in Syria amid other setbacks could spell trouble for its submarine force.
Strategic Russian naval bases have been upended by conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, creating headaches for the Kremlin’s navy, including its submarine force.
Moscow no longer appears to have any attack submarines in the Mediterranean Sea after NATO forces spotted its last known submarine leaving the region last week.
Portugal’s military said that it observed a Russian Kilo-class submarine moving through the country’s continental exclusive economic zone near northern Spain on Friday. NATO Maritime Command later identified the vessel as the Novorossiysk.
The Novorossiysk was spotted several weeks earlier at Tartus, a naval base in Syria that Russia had used for years. The future of Moscow’s military footprint at the facility — and in the country in general — was, however, thrown into uncertainty after the shocking collapse of the Assad regime last month.
There are indications that Russia is drawing down forces at its bases in Syria. Losing Tartus for good would be a significant blow to Moscow’s navy — including its capable submarine force — which relies on the warm-water port to project power across the region and beyond.
Early December satellite imagery showed the Novorossiysk docked in Tartus, but by the middle of the month, it was gone, along with the rest of the Russian warships that had been there. Some of the Russian naval vessels have been spotted in recent weeks loitering off the Syrian coast, but the whereabouts of this submarine were less certain.
Russian crew members board the Novorossiysk in Saint Petersburg in August 2014.OLGA MALTSEVA/AFP via Getty Images
Should Syria’s new leadership decide Russia can no longer station its forces at Tartus, it would mark another setback for Moscow’s navy, which has suffered a string of stunning losses in the nearby Black Sea since the start of the full-scale Ukraine war nearly three years ago.
Ukrainian forces have used missiles and naval drones to damage or destroy dozens of Russian naval vessels, including one of six improved Kilo-class submarines Moscow’s Black Sea Fleet operates, during the conflict.
These attacks have forced Moscow to withdraw the Black Sea Fleet from its long-held headquarters in Sevastopol, a major city in the southwestern corner of the occupied Crimean peninsula, across the region to the port of Novorossiysk along western Russia’s coast. If Russia is unable to move back into Sevastopol, that creates complications.
For Russia, losing the ability to keep submarines at Sevastopol and Tartus is less than ideal.
Bryan Clark, a former US Navy officer and defense analyst at the Hudson Institute, said that the remainder of the Kilo-class vessels are based in St. Petersburg, where there is a large naval facility and dry docks for maintenance.
“The Russians are now having to redeploy their submarine force back up to the north” instead of relying on warm-water ports that “you could get in and out of them year-round,” Clark told Business Insider. “St. Petersburg, you can’t get in and out of year-round.”
An overview of the naval facility at Tartus on January 6.Satellite image ©2025 Maxar Technologies.
Recent developments also seriously undermine Russia’s military influence in the Mediterranean and southern Europe, Clark said.
The Novorossiysk is a newer improved Kilo sub. Submarines of this class are diesel-electric vessels and formidable long-range strike platforms that can attack ships and land targets, deploy for weeks on end, and stay relatively undetected. They are effectively Russia’s most capable non-nuclear subs and can carry Kalibr missiles.
Russia has kept a Kilo-class vessel in the region for years. The boat’s departure from the region, though Russia could ultimately opt to move another sub into the area later, may signal a broader decline in Russian naval might in the Mediterranean.
In four years, Russia appears to have gone “from being a pretty big player in the Med — in terms of naval forces — to now being a nonexistent player,” Clark said.
Russia’s basing challenges could ultimately hinder its ability to project power. The uncertainty with Tartus and nearby Hmeimim Air Base — underscores a broader issue for the Russian military.
Satellite imagery captured on Monday by Maxar Technologies, a commercial imaging company, shows no obvious signs of any major Russian naval vessels at Tartus, as has been the case for weeks. Ukraine’s military intelligence agency has said Russia is withdrawing from the base.
Whether Moscow is able to negotiate an arrangement with the new Syrian leadership to stay in the country or is forced to relocate to a new hub in North Africa to sustain its operations remains to be seen.
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