Japan notices Russian amphibious ships passing between its islands

Russian amphibious ships. Image Credit.

According to Japan, Russian amphibious ships transiting a narrow strait between its islands may be moving fresh forces from Russia's far east to Ukraine.

In a news release from Japan's Defense Ministry's Joint Staff's Public Affairs office, four landing ship tanks, including one with a deck full of military trucks, were seen sailing westbound in the Pacific Ocean in the middle of last week.

The hull numbers on the Russian ships, as seen in Japanese photographs, indicate that they were the Alligator IV-class Nikolay Vilkov, the Ropucha I-class Oslyabya, Admiral Nevelskov, and the Ropucha II-class Peresvet. All four are part of the Russian Navy's Pacific Fleet and comprise the entirety of the Russian Navy's major amphibious units.

The ships were divided into two groups. One was made up of Nikolay Vilkov and Oslyabya, and it was first spotted heading west in the evening of March 15, 70 kilometers (38 nautical miles) northeast of Cape Shiryazaki on Japan's main island of Honshu.

The top deck of the Nikolay Vilkov was packed with at least 17 military trucks, according to photos released by the ministry. All four ships also have internal holds that can carry a variety of cargo or troops.

On the morning of March 16, 220 kilometers northeast of Cape Shiryazaki, Japan detected the Admiral Nevelskov and Peresvet.

The ships then navigated the narrow Tsugaru Strait, which separates Honshu from Japan's northernmost main island, Hokkaido. The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force's destroyer JS Shiranui and P-3C maritime patrol aircraft kept an eye on the vessels.

According to Japanese media, the ministry believes the ships were bringing additional units from Russia's far east to help bolster its forces involved in the Ukraine invasion.

Ukraine's Defense Ministry backed up this claim, saying on March 18 that the Russian 155th Separate Naval Infantry Brigade, based in Vladivostok, and the 40th Separate Naval Infantry Brigade, based in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, were heading west to "make up for losses" in Ukraine.

The Russian military's Eastern Military District is home to both naval infantry battalions.

The Russian ships' itinerary looks to be from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula to Vladivostok, where they will most likely be loaded onto westbound trains if they are actually intended for Ukraine.

The Tsugaru Strait has been declared as an international waterway by Japan, allowing foreign ships to pass through. The government claims 3 nautical miles of territorial waters in the strait, far less than the maximum of 12 nautical miles allowed by international law.

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