Russia has an unusually aggressive behavior in the Mediterranean and is increasing its fleet of ships in the sea that surrounds Albania. The alarm was given by the Italian navy, which specifies that this number of Moscow ships has not been seen since the Cold War.
"The number of Russian ships in the Mediterranean has increased. This does not pose a direct threat to the national territory, but significantly increases tensions. The Russians have an aggressive behavior that was not common in the Mediterranean, which was previously only visible in the Baltic. There is a risk of possible incidents and when an incident of this nature occurs, you never know how it can end", declared Enrico Credendino, Chief of Staff of the Italian Navy.
During the testimony in the Defense Commission of the Italian parliament, the head of the navy warned that the Russians have also set their sights on the Ionian Sea.
"In the Mediterranean, with a lot of flux, there is an unstable balance. Four groups of Allied aircraft carriers had never been seen before: one Italian, one French, one American and the Spanish amphibious ships. The Russians reach the Ionian without any problems and explore the Ionian Sea with a fleet of three modern ships. Russia's most modern ship is currently in South Africa and has hypersonic missiles, which we don't know if they are effective or not, but we will see. That ship will enter the Mediterranean. The situation is complex and turbulent. The risk of incidents is high."
This is not the first time that a NATO country has raised the alarm about the increased danger in the Mediterranean from Russian ships, this is also due to the increase in tensions between the West and Moscow due to the war in Ukraine.