spectre crouton

...Marshal Shaposhnikov (and likely Boris Butoma) arrived in Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam, 0n 5 March

- previous port call: Visakhapatnam, India (16-25 February)

...Rezkiy, Sovershennyy, and Pechenga arrived in Thilawa, Myanmar, on 5 March

- previous port call: George Town (Penang), Malaysia (27 February-2 March)

[4/4] The August 2025 event involved Kilo-class submarine Volkhov, Steregushchiy-class corvette Gromkiy, and Baklazhan-class salvage/rescue tug Fotiy Krylov

- 14-15 August: group conducted southbound transit of Tsushima Strait
- 20-21 August: group conducted northbound transit of Tsushima Strait

[3/4] The absence of reporting of an accompanying oiler suggests the group's underway period will be limited in duration/range. The group's complement is similar to a group that conducted a 'joint RF-PRC submarine patrol' in August 2025 - also with no oiler.

[2/4] At 13:00 UTC on 5 March, the group was north of the Tsushima Strait heading south, based on AIS reporting for the tug. According to Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force reporting, the group conducted southbound transit of the Tsushima Strait overnight 5-6 March.

www.mod.go.jp/js/pdf/2026/...

[1/4] RF Navy Pacific Fleet Kilo-class diesel-electric sub Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, Steregushchiy-class corvette Gromkiy, and Balk-class oceangoing tug Andrey Stepanov departed the Vladivostok area on 3 March for an Asia-Pacific regional deployment.

...Zhigulevsk returned to Baltiysk area by early evening hours on 5 March, concluding a 20-day mission (14 February-5 March) likely focused on monitoring French Navy aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle

...Aleksandr Shabalin?

www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news/2026/ma...

Location of 180-meter test dive in Baltic Sea by RF Navy Baltic Fleet Petersburg-class diesel-electric submarine Velikiye Luki during pre-commissioning sea trials

- date not indicated, but likely 4 July 2024

President Putin orders slight increase in Armed Forces military service member end strength by 2,640 troops (civilian end strength unchanged).

See copy of today's presidential order and chart showing end strength numbers between 2005 and 2026.

[3/3] Nabiullin's previous service:

- Northern Fleet Kilo submarine Magnitogorsk [timeframe unknown]

- Black Sea Fleet Kilo submarine Staryy Oskol (XO) [2017]

- Baltic Fleet Petersburg submarine Sankt-Peterburg (XO) [2024]

- Baltic Fleet Kilo submarine Dmitrov (CO) [2024-2026]

[2/3] The leadership change likely was pre-planned/routine and not due to any adverse actions by Gavrilov.

Artem Gavrilov [December 2022]

Timur Nabiullin [March 2026]

[1/3] Only three months after RF Navy Baltic Fleet Petersburg-class diesel-electric submarine Velikiye Luki was commissioned (December 2025), Captain 2nd Rank (NATO OF-4) Artem Gavrilov [image 1] has been replaced by Captain 2nd Rank Timur Nabiullin [image 2] as the submarine's Commanding Officer.

......Rezkiy, Sovershennyy, and Pechenga likely departed George Town, Malaysia, by midday on 2 March

Archive image, undated

RF Navy Northern Fleet Akula-class nuclear-powered fast attack submarine departed port in mid-February and remains underway through 2 March

- could be positioned to trail French Navy aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle (R91) when/if it enters the Norwegian Sea

...visual confirmation of Aleksandr Otrakovskiy's return to Severomorsk

Yaroslavl Shipyard in Arbitration Courts | 2026

...not looking good

Archive image, February 2025

RF Navy Northern Fleet Ropucha I-class landing ship Aleksandr Otrakovskiy arrived in Severomorsk by early evening hours on 1 March, completing a 91-day deployment to Western Africa and Mediterranean Sea (1 December 2025-1 March 2026)

Archive image, March 2024

RF Navy Northern Fleet Gorshkov-class missile frigate Admiral Flota Gorshkov departed Severomorsk by late afternoon on 28 February

- last underway period: 9-11 February 2026

RF Navy Deployed Days in 2026 (as of 28 February) = 1,823

Changes since 31 January:

- removed 'Kilo (unid)' from Northern Fleet; data proved inconclusive

- added 'Ingul Alatau' to Pacific Fleet; deployed sometime before 1 January 2026/returned 9 February

... [1] ? - task group commander; [2] Artem Shmagin - CO of Sovershennyy; [3] Yevgeniy Kovalev - CO of Rezkiy; [4] Aleksey Gonchar - Captain of Pechenga

...Rezkiy, Sovershennyy, and Pechenga arrived in George Town, Malaysia, on the morning of 27 February

...Orekhovo-Zuyevo entered or arrived in the vicinity of Baltiysk during the 16:00 local hour today after a six-day mission to escort M/V Sparta IV from the Skagerrak to Baltiysk (22-27 February)

- Sparta IV remains outside of Baltiysk (AIS)

Not from this end

Captain 1st Rank (NATO OF-5) Vyacheslav Samoylov recently transferred from Commanding Officer (CO) of RF Navy Northern Fleet Severodvinsk-class nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine Kazan [image 1] to CO of future RF Navy Northern Fleet Severodvinsk-class submarine Ulyanovsk [image 2]

Owl Vision - Downlord [Single] YouTube video by Owl Vision

...not be confused with...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3q8...

I think we'll find that Orekhovo-Zuyevo took over escort duty from Aleksandr Otrakovskiy (yesterday), which is likely heading north in the Norwegian Sea back to its homeport of Severomorsk

...Orekhovo-Zuyevo is currently operating in the Skagerrak

Archive image, undated

Archive image, April 2024

Archive image, February 2025

[2/2] ...to monitor operations by French Navy Charles de Gaulle-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and/or assume escort of M/V Sparta IV from Northern Fleet Ropucha I-class landing ship Aleksandr Otrakovskiy in North Sea

www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/detai...

Archive image, May 2024

[1/2] RF Navy Black Sea Fleet Sviyazhsk-class missile corvette Orekhovo-Zuyevo departed Baltiysk during the morning hours on 22 February, conducted a northbound transit of the Great Belt during the evening hours of 23 February, and may be preparing...