Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
A MILITARY OPERATION is underway about 200km off the Cork coast as British and US forces monitor two Russian warships patrolling in the area.
A Russian Naval tanker, the Vyazma, has been operating in the Celtic Sea and the St George’s Channel area in recent days.
The Journal has learned that she is accompanied by at least two Russian warships – as of lunchtime they were approximately 100 nautical miles south of Cork Harbour.
The Russian vessels are in international waters but well within Ireland’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
The ships had been tracking north towards the Irish Sea but early this morning turned around and are now heading south west.
A British Naval vessel, HMS Lancaster, is shadowing the vessels understood to be the cruiser Marshal Ustinov and the destroyer Vice Admiral Kulakov.
Sources have said that the Russian vessels are so fuel inefficient that they require an oil tanker to accompany them.
In a rare departure from normal naval operations the British vessel has switched on its AIS transponder and can be seen on apps such as Marine Traffic.
Earlier this morning a P8 Poseidon US Naval maritime aircraft left Iceland and is understood to have headed down the west Irish coast in the direction of the Russian vessels.
The flotilla of Russian ships came up the Portuguese coast in recent days having crossed into the Atlantic from the Mediterranean at Gibraltar. Sources believe they will either go through the Irish Sea or into the English Channel. They have been monitored by the British Frigate throughout that journey.
The Irish Air Corps are understood to have dispatched a surveillance aircraft to monitor the movements of the ships over recent days also while the Irish Naval Service were working to dispatch a ship to observe.
It is understood an Irish naval vessel is due on a courtesy visit to a European neighbour in the coming days.
The Russians, sources said, have been “loitering” in the area for several weeks with other vessels patrolling in the Atlantic.
A source said that the Irish navy was observing Russian naval ships and another tanker, the Akademik Pashin, in the last two weeks in the same area of sea.
Sources said the reason for the Russian operations in the area is one of “posturing and force projection”.
The Vyazma also accompanied Russian naval vessels to missile exercises off the south coast earlier in the year.
On that occasion the French military, HMS Argyle and the US Navy’s USS Roosevelt as well as Irish naval and Air Corps crews monitored the activities.
The two Russian ships, the Soobrazitelniy and the Stoykiy had travelled south, via the English Channel.
They then made their way to the Black Sea where they participated in the war against Ukraine.
The Irish Defence Forces said they “aware of this activity and are monitoring the situation.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
@waffler
Speak for yourself. If I see an article about a missing I child I will always read it. And so will every other decent human being. Keep up the good work The Journal.
@waffler I don’t have kids and maybe the journal do report them all but what if it was your child.. Would you not want every angle covered?
if the journal keeps reporting every time a kid has a row with their parents people will stop reading these articles and the genuinely serious cases will be ignored. ever heard of the boy who cried wolf?
Every single child is important regardless of reasons why they are missing, and if your the sort of person that will lose interest because there may be a bit more than you can be bothered to read then I think you need to change your way of thinking. Who knows what could happen to a child even If they do run once they are out there on their own. God where has all the decent people gone in this country. It’s all come about money greed and jealousy.
@wafffler – you certainly chose a good name for yourself.
Doesnt matter where he was found or why he went
Hes home safe thats the main thing
I agree on the vital importance of publicising any missing child (or missing person, for that matter), and I commend this publication for doing so. However, it is necessary to give closure to stories that have closure; particularly where it is a positive outcome. It must be reported where the person was found, what condition they were in, and what the circumstances of their apparent disappearance was. To simply state that the child was found is neither acceptable nor balanced coverage.
Journal staff need to work on writing skills… everyday there is an example of bad journalistic skills. As a reader, I want to know what happened to the kid while he was missing and etc
You want to know why exactly the poor fella went missing….. Just out of curiosity…? Ya, that’ll help him…. He’s found. Great news. End of.
Is that not just being nosey, he was found that’s all that matters
Where was he found? Did he just run away?
Delighted he was found safe and well. Wishing him and his family happiness and good luck for the future!
Great!
so he was only gone a day?
Thank god he was found safe. His family must be trilled…
That sounds painful.
the small number of comments backs up my argument
No it doesn’t just proves there are more sad nosey selfish inconsiderate people about. It’s good news for god sake very good news something we don’t hear alot of.
have your say