Ships, armoured vehicles and the agri-food sector. Moscow advances into the Mediterranean
In recent months, Putin’s military and mercenaries have returned to Libya in force. The Kremlin has posted an ambassador with expertise in cyber security to Egypt and gained control of two seaports in Suez. Meanwhile, food imports from Tunisia have risen by 57 per cent. A combined – and not merely hybrid – strategy aimed at destabilising the region
At the time of writing, a naval military exercise is taking place off the coast of Tripoli, involving not only Libyan vessels and personnel but also military personnel from Italy, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and France. Not to mention Malta, Mauritania, Portugal and Spain. The aim: to combat immigration, human trafficking and arms trafficking. A few days ago in Bizerte, in Tunisia, under the command of the Sixth Fleet, US Marines were training local special forces and those of the Tripoli government. Phoenix Express 2026 was the name of the exercise. This too was aimed at combating illicit trafficking. With one additional detail: measures were also taken to counter cyber-attacks targeting ships. Something that bears a striking resemblance to the so-called Russian ‘shadow fleet’. And perhaps this focus is no coincidence.
It is true that, for some time now, an average of 80 ships have been stationed in the Mediterranean, all too often switching off their transponders; yet it will not have escaped anyone’s notice that in recent months – and particularly since August – Vladimir Putin’s Russia has stepped up its activities with the clear aim of expanding its presence in the Mare Nostrum. These are many seemingly unrelated incidents, but it is worth connecting them like dots on a map.
Let’s start in the east, in Syria. A convoy of four vessels (a cargo ship, two oil tankers and a destroyer) has docked at Tartus, following months during which no Russian ships had been spotted in the country.
Beyond diplomacy
In Egypt, whilst Italians were on holiday, Russia secured two major deals. Firstly, it appointed Artur Lyukmanov as ambassador, who had previously served as director of the Department for International Information Security. He is not a diplomat but an expert in security matters in fields often related to the intelligence services.
The aim is to establish a Russian-Arab cyber coalition with an anti-Western agenda. Shortly before that, in July, Moscow began construction of two logistics hubs (granted by Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for 99 years) at the entrance and exit of Suez. In September, four Russian defence companies took part in the defence exhibition in El Alamein, with the aim of securing agreements beyond the satellite sector. A little further west lies Cyrenaica. And it is in this part of Libya that the Kremlin is concentrating its military efforts.
