From Ogliastra to Baronia, but still with that anomalous movement on a short north-to-south route that required the mobilization of ships and aircraft of the Italian Armed Forces and NATO. The Russian cargo ship Sparta IV is still there, off the eastern coast of Sardinia: after a few days spent "commuting" between Capo Monte Santo and Tortolì, since Thursday night it has moved to cruise off Capo Comino. Still in international waters and still escorted by the destroyer Severomorsk and the Russian Federation support vessel Kama .
The “death courier”: this is how the Sparta IV has been nicknamed. Officially part of Moscow's merchant fleet, it actually operates on behalf of the Kremlin's Ministry of Defense, having been used for years to transport armaments, as certified by studies by NATO analysts.
Weak possibility of bad weather
There is no certainty about its activities off Sardinia. As the days pass, it seems unlikely that it needed shelter from the Atlantic storm that would have awaited it beyond Gibraltar, where it was headed before heading towards Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania. It seems increasingly clear, however, that what seemed like a simple diversion became a real operation. Its purpose, however, remains a mystery.
The shadow fleet's activities have been monitored for days by Italian Navy frigates, NATO spy planes, and a Guardia di Finanza reconnaissance aircraft. On Friday, a WC-135R Constant Phoenix, an American radioactivity-detecting aircraft, also appeared in that area . In short, military activity around the Russian ships is intense.
Letter from Comipa to Crosetto
And following parliamentary questions, the civilian members of COMIPA, the Joint Committee on Military Easements, also sought an explanation from Defense Minister Guido Crosetto: the letter is signed by Giovanni Aramu, Alessandra Berry, Domenico Cabula, Antonio Canu, Egidio Didu, and Paolo Erasmo. In the full exercise of their duties, they wrote to the minister (and for information, and only in this capacity, to the President of the Region, who has remained silent on the matter) seeking " a general overview of the monitoring activity underway in the affected area, a general assessment of the possible presence or absence of risk profiles for the regional territory and local communities, and guidance on how to inform or involve the civilian advisory bodies, within their respective areas of responsibility."