This was reported by TASS with reference to the head of the auxiliary fleet service of the Department of Transport Support of the Ministry of Defense of Russia Sergey Epifanov.
“As for the prospects for these vessels, in 2019 the Russian Minister of Defense decided to build five more tankers of this project,” Epifanov said.
He also said that in 2024 the same tanker would be handed over to the Northern Fleet.
Epifanov explained that this tanker is not specifically for the Northern Fleet, but for the entire Navy. According to him, all tankers are universal and multifunctional, have an unlimited navigation area, and their hull is made in ice.
In November, a detachment of ships of the Baltic Fleet of the Russian Navy, consisting of the patrol ship Yaroslav the Wise, the tanker Yelnya and the tugboat Viktor Konetsky, conducted exercises in the Mediterranean Sea and visited the Syrian port of Tartus.