The Navy simultaneously monitored the passage of three Russian ships in national waters

The navy simultaneously monitored the passage of three Russian ships through Portugal’s exclusive economic zone between Friday and Sunday, the service said Monday.

“The Portuguese Navy, through the Maritime Operations Center and four ships, monitored and observed until yesterday, August 4, three ships of Russian nationality located in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Portugal,” the navy said in a statement.

According to the department, two Russian ships, named “Yaz” and “General Skobelev”, began sailing through the economic and exclusive zone of the continent, heading for the Mediterranean Sea, last Friday, August 2,” and at the same time, the naval fuel tanker “Kola”, whose main task is to ensure the stability of the Russian Navy’s operations at sea, was heading in the opposite direction.

For this mission, the Maritime Operations Centre deployed four ships of the Portuguese Republic (NRP): Bartolomeu Dias, Setubal, Orion and Cassiopeia.

The Navy stresses that this monitoring was a “joint effort” with the Air Force, “which deployed a P3-C maritime patrol aircraft.”

The Section concludes the statement by stressing that through these monitoring and surveillance actions, the Navy “guarantees the protection and security of maritime spaces under national sovereignty, jurisdiction or responsibility, contributes to the protection of Portugal’s interests and its critical infrastructure, while ensuring compliance with the international commitments assumed within the Atlantic Alliance.”