The large landing craft (LLC) Orsk has sailed into the Mediterranean, Turkish websites reported, posting photographs of the vessel's passage through the Bosphorus.

Turkish naval observer Yoruk Isik posted photographs of the Russian warship online Sunday, suggesting Russia was stepping up its own military efforts in Syria.

According to Yoruk Isik, the Orsk, which is part of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, is heading to Syria’s Mediterranean port of Tartus, which is home to a Russian naval supply base.

​Seen on deck are several BTR-80 armored vehicles, a Tigr fighting vehicle, KamAz trucks and a Ural fuel truck.

This is already the Orsk’s fourth mission to Syria this year with the landing ships Minsk and Nikolai Filchenkov making their way into the Mediterranean Sea via the Black Sea straits on April 5 and 13 respectively.

Since January, the Azov and Alexander Otrakovsky landing craft and the Kyzyl-60 transport ship have hauled cargoes to Syria.

According to foreign media reports, Russia landing ships, auxiliary vessels and chartered ships have been taking part in Operation Syrian Express, carrying cargoes for Russia’s air base at Hmeymim near Latakia, the Russian naval supply base at Tartus, and for Syrian government forces.

READ MORE: Lawmaker: Russia Should Sell S-300 Air Defense Systems to Iran, N. Korea, Syria </s> Two Russian warships laden with military vehicles have been spotted en route to Syria after Friday's US-led airstrikes obliterated three suspected chemical weapons sites.An Alligator-landing ship was pictured cruising down The Bosphorus on Sunday as the world awaits Vladimir Putin's response to this week's co-ordinated military action against Syria.The vessel was spotted on its way to the Russian naval base at Tartus on the north Syrian coast.On its fourth deployment of Russian military equipment to the war-torn country the ship was seen laden withA yellow RoRo Alexandr Tkachenko was also pictured heading for Tartus carrying. The images were posted on social media by Bosphorus-based naval observer Yörük Işık.They come in wake of Friday's US-led campaign against Bashar al-Assad's regime and a chemical weapons attack that brutally murdered 75 civillians.The blue Project 117 LST Orsk 148 ship was carrying Soviet BTR-80 tanks, Ramaz trucks and a Pelena-1 bomb radar, used to detect IEDs.A second yellow cargo vessel was equipped with a BMK-T boat used for building temporary bridges and an array of other military hardware. </s> Pictures showed the three vessels crammed with weapons sail through the Bosphorus strait – that links the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. Putin’s ships are allegedly heading for the Tartus naval base on the northern coast of Syria. It comes after the US, UK and France fired more than 100 missiles at Syria in response to a chemical attack on civilians in Douma. Russia condemned the attack on its ally and promised there would be “consequences” for the strike by the West. War fears are stretched amid warnings Western action in Syria could lead to a direct clash with Russian president Putin.

Pictures reveal an Alligator-class landing ship Orsk heading into the Med yesterday – packed the brim with vehicles. Trucks, lorries and armoured tanks were all seen standing on the deck as the vessel headed for Syria. The tanks are Russian BTR-80s – which are eight wheeler amphibious armoured personnel carriers developed by the Soviet Union. What appeared to be fuel tankers were also visible on the deck of the ship as it sailed through the Bosphorus.

And then on Friday – before the strike by the West – the yellow cargo ship Alexander Tkachenko was snapped sailing through Turkey. Sitting on its deck were military trucks, along with patrol boats. The vessel is also believed to be headed for Tartus on charter by Putin’s government. Landing ship Nikolai Filchenkov was also seen passing through the Bosphorus loaded with vehicles. Russia has a large military force in Syria – with estimations of around 10,000 troops still on the ground along with warships, warplanes and missiles.

Trump hailed his strikes as “mission accomplished” as the 107 missiles rained down on Syrian bases linked to the chemical attack. Syria and Russia both deny chemical weapons were used by the regime, instead blaming rebel groups and Britain. Both regimes allege the gassing of civilians was faked in bid to bring the US into the war to ensure the ousting of Bashar al-Assad. Three targets were attacked but he US – including the “heart” of Assad’s alleged chemical weapons programme at Bazrah Research Centre. And today it was revealed Trump wanted to attack Russia and Iran in his Syria strike, before being talked down by his top generals.

Around 500 people were gassed in the chemical attack on Douma earlier this month – killing dozens, including children. Barrel bombs were allegedly dropped by regime helicopters trying to clear out the rebel-held suburban. And the US Ambassador Nikki Haley accused Russia of having “blood on its hands” over the attack. Daily Star Online previously revealed NATO would lose war to Russia in 60 hours if conflict spread to Europe. </s> Army tanks were seen on the Project 117 Alligator-class landing ship spotted at Bosphorus, Turkey, en-route to Syria (Picture: @YorukIsik)

Warships loaded with tanks and military equipment have been spotted heading to a Russian naval base in Syria after the UK, US and France carried out airstrikes there on Saturday.

A Russian Project 117 Alligator-class landing ship was spotted off the coast of Turkey on Sunday, reportedly making its way to the military base at Tartus on the north Syrian coast

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Russian president Vladimir Putin is expected to respond to the bombings said to have wiped out sites connected with Syrian president Assad’s chemical weapons programme.

British Tornado GR4s departed from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus and fired Storm Shadow missiles at a military facility near Homs, where the regime is said to have kept chemical weapon precursors.

Other sites near Damascus were also targeted in the assault which US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis called a ‘one-time shot’

The Russian Navy’s landing ship Nikolai Filchenkov sails in the Bosphorus (Picture: REUTERS/Yoruk Isik)

Russian-flagged cargo ship Alexander Tkachenko, chartered by the Russian government, sails in the Bosphorus, on its way to the Mediterranean Sea in Turkey (Picture: REUTERS/Yoruk Isik)

Announcing the operation, Prime Minister Theresa May said there was ‘no practicable alternative to the use of force’.

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She said ‘every possible diplomatic channel’ had been explored before authorising the strikes, adding that it was not a decision she had taken lightly.

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The strikes came in response to a chemical attack in Douma on April 7, which killed at least 75 including many children, believed to have been carried out by the Assad regime.

But reports yesterday suggested Putin could order ‘payback’ for the strikes in the form of a cyber attack on UK computer systems.

Naval observer Yoruk Isik posted photographs of the Russian warships online yesterday, suggesting Russia was stepping up its own military efforts in Syria.

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Reinforcement for Russia’s campaign continues amid rising international crisis in #Syria: #ВМФ Project1171 #ЧФ BSF Tapir class LST Orsk transits Med-bound Bosphorus en route to #Tartus carrying BTR80 APCs, Ural4320tanker,ambulance,KamAZ trucks & AirborneTroops VDV’s IVECO 4WDLynx pic.twitter.com/rmfsRRVxnJ — Yörük Işık (@YorukIsik) April 15, 2018

Orsk, Russia’s transport ship, was seen leaving the Bosphorus strait loaded up with what appeared to be tanks, lorries, ambulances and military hardware including an IED radar.

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A second ship, the yellow tanker RoRo Alexandr Tkachenko, was also pictured carrying trucks and materials for bridge construction.

Following the airstrikes, Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov warned that there would be ‘consequences’.

In a statement, he said: ‘A pre-designed scenario is being implemented.

‘Again, we are being threatened. We warned that such actions will not be left without consequences.

‘All responsibility for them rests with Washington, London and Paris.

Project 117 Alligator-class landing ship spotted at Bosphorus, Turkey, en-route to Syria on Sunday (Picture: @YorukIsik)

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‘Insulting the President of Russia is unacceptable and inadmissible.

‘The US – the possessor of the biggest arsenal of chemical weapons – has no moral right to blame her countries.’

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson yesterday defended the UK’s decision to join the US and France in striking Syria, saying it showed the country was ‘standing up for principle and for civilised values’.

But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn questioned the legality of the strikes after a vote on action was not put to MPs.

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He demanded a new ‘war powers’ law to give parliament more scrutiny over decisions made by the PM on any future airstrikes.

‘I think what we need in this country is something more robust like a War Powers Act so that governments do get held to account by parliament for what they do in our name,’ Corbyn told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show.

MORE: This is what missile attack did to Syria’s chemical weapons program

MORE: Theresa May to face angry MPs after missile attack against Syria </s> HMS St Albans intercepted Russia’s Neustrashimyy-class 423 ft (129m) frigate Yaroslav Mudry has it passed along the English coastline and Dover Strait. The Russian warship, which specialises in anti-submarine warfare, is thought to have been on “Syria duty” as tensions remain high following the UK’s backing of a targeted bombing of the Syrian government's military bases. The joint bombing with the US and France was launched in retaliation for the chemical weapons attack carried out by Assad’s regime against his own people earlier this month. It is unclear whether the Russian frigate, which is equipped with anti-ship and anti-submarine missiles as well sonar detection equipment, was on its way to or from Syria’s coastline.

HMS St Albans shadowed the 4,400 ton Russian craft until it left the English Channel. Commander John Cromie, the Commanding Officer of HMS St Albans, said: “As the Royal Navy's high readiness unit in UK waters, we are the first responders to any potential incursion into UK waters and are highly trained in this role. “Our activation today in response to the passage of a Russian warship close to the UK resulted in a cordial interaction between professional sailors based on the recognised conventions at sea. “We are always standing ready, as is the rest of the fleet, to defend UK waters and UK sovereignty 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”

Russia regularly pushes the patience and nerve of Britain by sailing huge ships through the Channel. Another Russian warship is also said to have put the Royal Navy on high alert with one of Russia's Ropucha-class landing ships expected to pass through the English Channel in the coming days. After being pictured passing the Strait of Gibraltar on Sunday, the fearsome vessel is expected to continue up the Atlantic and then through the English Channel. The Minsk 127 has spent almost a year in the Med and Black Sea and is now en route back home.

The landing ship regularly carries huge amounts of weapons and has been heavily involved in helping Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad cling onto control in his country. Yörük Işık, a Turkish naval observer, said: “The Ropucha class Baltic Fleet landing ship will transit the Strait of Dover, very likely this Saturday.” And last November, the Russian destroyer Vice Admiral Kulakov raised tensions when it passed through the Channel without permission. Royal Navy frigate HMS Somerset was scrambled to escort the ship from UK waters as it returned from the Mediterranean Sea. </s> A Russian military vessel, known to be a “spy ship,” sank in the Black Sea off the coast of Turkey Thursday, Russian and Turkish officials are saying. The Russian intelligence gathering ship, identified as the Liman, sustained a breach to its hull after colliding with a freighter just north of the city of Istanbul.

The Guardian reported that the Turkish Coast Guard has confirmed that Russian naval ship Liman, a craft stationed in Crimea and part of the Black Sea Fleet, was involved in a collision with a Togo-flagged freighter carrying livestock and subsequently began taking on water from a breach to the hull. Although personnel attempted to save the spy ship, it sank within three hours of the accident.

Russia’s defense ministry had confirmed earlier in the day that the Liman had acquired a hole during the incident, telling the Interfax news agency there were no casualties among the ship’s crew, who were “fighting to keep the boat in the water.”

All 78 sailors aboard the Liman were safely rescued, picked up by a Turkish rescue vessel, according to the Associated Press.

Reuters reported that advisers to Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim extended a message of his sadness over the collision to his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, according to sources within the prime minister’s office.

Relations between the two nations have been strained for the past few years. The most recent source of friction has come from disputes regarding the Syrian civil war, where Russia has backed the sitting regime of President Bashar al-Asad, while Turkey has supported his ouster by Syrian rebels.

The Guardian further reported that shipping agent GAC had revealed that the Russian ship Liman and the other craft, identified by the agent as the Youzarsif H, ran into each other in foggy conditions with accompanying low visibility. The Youzarsif H was said to have been laden with livestock and to have sustained minor damage. Its crew was also reportedly without injuries.

A former commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Viktor Kravchenko, told Interfax, according to BBC News, the event was “out of the ordinary.”

“There have been collisions but I do not remember a case like this, of a vessel, a warship sinking after it,” he said.

The Liman is a former research vessel that the Russian navy has retrofitted and refurbished into an intelligence reconnaissance ship. It is equipped with radio and sonar equipment to carry out its various missions. The spy ship had returned to the Black Sea from a stint in the Mediterranean Sea at the end of January.

In February and March, the nascent presidency of President Donald Trump was challenged with the appearance of a Russian spy ship along the U.S. East Coast, where it came within 17 miles of land at one point. Identified as the Viktor Leonov, the reconnaissance ship was an AGI (Auxiliary, General Intelligence) trawler that was outfitted with non-digital reconnaissance equipment.

Seen by many as a goad directed at the newly inaugurated president, Trump dismissed the spy ship as simply doing what reconnaissance ships do. Although the voyages made headline news, with endless speculation on the Russians’ motive and possible responses by the United States, the administration treated it commonplace and of no real concern to national security.

The Bosphorus, which slices through Istanbul, is one of the world’s most important waterways for maritime commerce, especially when the commodities are oil and grain. The 17-mile strait connects the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea.

The GAC shipping agency said that when the collision took place, the Bosphorus had already been closed to shipping due to poor visibility. </s> Image copyright EPA Image caption The Admiral Kuznetsov will join Russian vessels already off the Syrian coast

Russia has withdrawn a request for three warships to dock at the Spanish port of Ceuta for refuelling, following concern among Nato allies.

The Spanish foreign ministry says the stopovers have now been cancelled.

Spain had been under pressure from Nato allies not to allow the refuelling of the Russian warships bound for Syria.

Russia's defence ministry later said no request had been sent for the main vessel, aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, to be refuelled in Ceuta.

In a statement (in Russian), the ministry said the Russian vessels had the necessary resources to carry out tasks.

The ministry added that it had considered - upon agreement with Spain - the possibility of a "business" docking of some of the ships or a maintenance ship into Ceuta's port.

Russia's battle group has been sailing for the past week from Russia to the Mediterranean.

'We are concerned'

"Given the information which appeared on the possibility that these ships would participate in supporting military action in the Syrian city of Aleppo, the ministry of foreign affairs requested clarification from the embassy of the Russian Federation in Madrid," the Spanish foreign ministry said earlier on Wednesday in a statement to the BBC.

It added that permission had been granted in September for three Russian ships to dock in Ceuta between 28 October and 2 November. It said such stops for Russian naval vessels had taken place for years in Spanish ports.

But following its request for clarification, the ministry said, the Russian embassy in Madrid said it was withdrawing its request for refuelling.

The Russian embassy has confirmed the withdrawal.

Nato had earlier expressed concern that the ships could be used to help bomb civilians in Aleppo, but said the final decision on resupply rested with Spain.

Nato's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg had warned that warships could be used to target civilians in Syria.

"We are concerned and I have expressed that very clearly about the potential use of this battle group to increase Russia's ability and to be a platform for air strikes against Syria," he told journalists on Tuesday.

Image copyright PA

Storm in a petrol pump - Jonathan Marcus, defence correspondent, BBC News

In the end it was little more than a storm in a petrol pump.

Russia withdrew its request to refuel its warships in a Spanish port, and so Moscow and Madrid both found a diplomatic way to get themselves off a difficult hook.

But the passions aroused by Spain's apparent willingness to refuel Russian vessels were real, especially since this time the Russian task group was on its way - as the British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon put it - "to bomb Syrian civilians in Aleppo".

How would it look, just as Nato defence ministers met to strengthen their forces in the Baltic, in Poland and around the Black Sea, if one of their members was helping a Russian task group on its way to a conflict where many Nato governments have accused Moscow of carrying out war crimes through its indiscriminate bombing?

Image copyright EPA Image caption The warships were expected to pass through the Strait of Gibraltar on Wednesday

Led by Russia's only aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, the naval group includes a nuclear-powered battle cruiser, two anti-submarine warships and four support vessels, probably escorted by submarines.

The battle group carries dozens of fighter bombers and helicopters and is expected to join about 10 other Russian vessels already off the Syrian coast.

Some 2,700 people have been killed or injured since the Russian-backed Syrian offensive started last month, according to activists.

Western leaders have said Russian and Syrian air strikes on Aleppo could amount to war crimes, an accusation rejected by Russia.

About 250,000 civilians who live in Aleppo have been trapped by the fighting. Moscow announced last week a "humanitarian pause" in attacks as part of a plan to allow civilians and fighters to leave the area. </s> Russia announced Monday that it will supply the Syrian government with modern S-300 missile defense systems following last week's downing of a Russian plane by Syria, a friendly fire incident that send regional tensions over the war-torn country soaring.

The Russian military aircraft was downed by Syrian government missile defense systems, killing all 15 people on board. Russia laid the blame squarely on Israel, saying that its fighter jets had pushed the Russian plane into the line of Syria's fire. Shortly before the downing, Israeli strikes had hit targets inside Syria, reportedly preventing an arms shipment going to Iranian-backed Hezbollah group.

Russia launched its campaign in Syria to support President Bashar Assad in 2015 and though the involvement turned the tide of war in favor of Syrian government forces, Moscow has since played a careful balancing act, maintaining good ties both with Iran and Israel.

For its part, Israel is wary of Iran's growing influence in Syria, bringing its archenemy closer to its borders.

Last week's downing has put Russia's relationship with Israel to a test.

President Vladimir Putin struck a reconciliatory note, blaming the downing on a "chain of tragic, fatal circumstances." But the Russian military came out on Sunday, renewing the accusations against Israel.

Russian officials said Syria's outdated S-200 systems weren't sophisticated enough to identify the Russian plane as a friendly one.

Monday's statement from Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russia will send the newer S-300 missile defense systems to Syria within the next two weeks. Earlier in the war, Russia suspended a supply of S-300, which Israel feared Syria could use against it.

Shoigu said Russia is now going to go ahead with the shipment because "the situation has changed, and it's not our fault." The supply of S-300s to Syria will "calm down some hotheads" whose actions "pose a threat to our troops," he said.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told Russian news agencies that supplying S-300 to Syria is Russia's "own right" and expressed confidence that this would not hurt Russia's ties with Israel.

The Kremlin said Russia's decision was not targeted against anyone and only serves to protect Russian troops in Syria. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that recent findings by the Russian military showed an Israeli jet "deliberately" pushed the Russian Il-20 into the line of fire, enabling its downing.

Russia's stepped-up role in Syria enabled Assad's forces, which had been losing ground to the armed opposition, to gain the upper hand in the war and reclaim wide swaths of territory held by the rebels.

In recent months, the government recaptured many areas that were controlled by the opposition. And last week, Russia reached a deal with Turkey that averted a Russian-backed offensive against the northwestern province of Idlib, one of the last areas out of government control.

Idlib, controlled by a mix of radical groups and Turkey-backed armed opposition, overlooks the Syrian coast where Russia military and air bases are located, and have reportedly come under rebel fire.

Shortly after Moscow's announcement, the Syrian president's office said Assad received a call from Vladimir Putin and that the two discussed the latest developments, including the Idlib deal and the delivery of S-300s.

According to the statement, Putin reiterated that Russia holds Israel responsible for the downing of the Russian plane. The Russian president also informed Assad of the S-300 delivery, it said.

Assad expressed his condolences for the deaths of the Russian airmen, saying they were "carrying out noble mission, fighting terrorism in Syria."

Associated Press writer Sarah El Deeb in Beirut contributed to this report. </s> Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Ships ablaze off Crimea after explosion

At least 11 people have died in a fire involving two Tanzanian-flagged cargo vessels in the Black Sea near the Kerch Strait, authorities say.

Russian rescuers are trying to reach sailors who jumped overboard. Fourteen people have so far been rescued.

One ship is a gas tanker, and the fire reportedly followed an explosion, which set the other vessel on fire.

They were named as the Kandy (Venice), with a crew of 17 from Turkey and India, and Maestro, with 14 sailors.

The fire broke out when one vessel was transferring fuel to another, Russian maritime agency spokesman Alexei Kravchenko said, adding that this had then forced several crew members to jump overboard.

Rescue workers reportedly witnessed a further three people struggling in the water, who most likely had drowned.

AFP news agency said that "no signal from either one of the two captains" had been received.

Authorities in the Crimean city of Kerch are now preparing to receive the victims.

The crew members were sailing in "neutral waters" in the Black Sea when the incident occurred, authorities said.

The names of the two vessels, the Venice and the Maestro, both appear on a US treasury list as possible targets for sanctions over petroleum shipments to Syria.

The US tightened sanctions against Syria back in 2011 in response to what it said was President Bashar al-Assad's "continued atrocities" committed against the Syrian people.

The Kerch Strait is a focus of tension between Russia and Ukraine.

In November, Russian border guards seized three Ukrainian naval vessels near the narrow channel, which links the Black Sea with the Sea of Azov.

A court in Russia has extended by three months the detention of 24 Ukrainian sailors captured in the incident. They are accused of illegally crossing into Russian territory.

Ukraine condemned the Russian move, denying that its ships had violated the navigation laws in the area. The strait lies off Ukraine's Crimea peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014.
Russia sends landing ship Nikolai Filchenkov, chartered civilian vessel MV Alexander Tkachenko, and transport ship Orsk to Syria laden with military equipment.