Russian cargo ship 'on Syria mission' sinks in Mediterranean
A Russian cargo ship that Ukraine claims was sent to Syria to collect weapons has sunk in the Mediterranean Sea, according to officials in Moscow.
Two crew members are missing after an engine room explosion sank the Ursa Major between Spain and Algeria, the foreign ministry said.
Ukraine's military intelligence claimed in a post on Telegram yesterday that the ship had been sent to Syria to remove weapons and military equipment after the fall of Bashar al Assad.
Ship tracking data from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) shows the vessel departed from the Russian port of St Petersburg on 11 December and was last seen sending a signal at 10.04pm (GMT) on Monday between Algeria and Spain.
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On leaving St Petersburg it had indicated that its next port of call was the Russian port of Vladivostok, not the Syrian port of Tartous which it had called at previously.
The operator and owner of the ship is a company called SK-Yug, part of shipping and logistics company Oboronlogistics, according to LSEG data.
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