➡️ Movement

The Russian cargo ship Sparta II has been drifting near Tartus since Jan. 5 after departing from Baltiysk in Kaliningrad Oblast on Dec. 11.

Tartus, Ukraine
Likely Reported by 2 independent sources
Kyiv Independent Kyiv Post

Two or more independent sources agree on the core facts. Additional sources would further strengthen this assessment.

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Source Reports

The Sparta II, a Russian cargo ship under U.S. sanctions, has been drifting near Tartus since Jan. 5 after leaving Baltiysk in Kaliningrad Oblast on Dec. 11

Four Russian S-400 TELs moved to Tartus port, awaiting evacuation

TELs are from consignment delivered to protect Khmeimim Air Base

Russia is withdrawing strategic assets from Syria following ousting of Bashar al-Assad

Russian ships Sparta and Admiral Grigorovich waiting offshore for permission to load

Most likely destination of S-400s is Ukraine to compensate for air defense losses

Russia may transfer military assets to Libya

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Extraction metadata

Extracted: 2026-07-18T17:09:39.098Z

Source story: russias-evacuation-efforts-stalled-as-new-syrian-leaders-deny-port-access-media-reports