As of then, it included two missile corvettes, one anti-submarine warfare boat, one reconnaissance ship, one supply tanker and one floating shipyard.

One analyst concluded that "Russia no longer considers the prospect of the group’s passing through the Turkish Straits realistic".

Vice-Admiral Nikolai Maksimov, the Northern Fleet commander, said during the operations that "After this visit to the Mediterranean and France, the first in 15 years, we will establish a constant presence in the region".

Presently, it continues to facilitate and replenish Russian forces stationed there and also help out with any search and rescue operations in its area of responsibility.

Between October 2016–January 2017, the Russian Navy intervened in the Syrian Civil War during the Battle of Aleppo deploying a carrier strike group centered around the Northern Fleet's aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, which included heavy cruiser Pyotr Velikiy, destroyers Severomorsk and Vice-Admiral Kulakov and likely a nuclear submarine.

In terms of distant location and number of capital ships participating it's comparable only to June 2021 exercises of the Pacific Fleet off the Hawaii islands.

French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle has left Toulon for a deployment in the Persian Gulf via the eastern Mediterranean in mid-February.

[118] The newest air defence system S-500 was reportedly tested at Khmeymim airbase and obtained a lock on a F-35 fighter from the HMS Queen Elizabeth.

[121] On 16 November, British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth reentered the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal.

[122] Since the only Russian large surface combatant present in the area Admiral Grigorovich was in the western Mediterranean Sea, taking part in Russo-Algerian naval exercise between 16 and 17 November, it's unclear whether Russia sent any ship at all to shadow the aircraft carrier, except for the airplanes.

[124] In 2022, the Russian Navy operated in the Adriatic Sea for the first time since 1995 Volk's deployment amid US bombardment of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

[129][130] At the same time, the submarine Rostov Na Donu returned to the Black Sea from the Mediterranean just prior to the outbreak of hostilities.

Simultaneously, Bastion-P anti-ship missile batteries were installed at the Russian base in Syria to improve its defensive capabilities.

[132] On 28 February 2022, four days after the outbreak of hostilities, Turkey indicated that it was closing the Dardanelles Straits to all foreign warships for the duration of the conflict.