ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

This map shows the approximate locations of US, British, Chinese and Russian aicraft carriers and carrier strike groups. SouthFront: Analysis & Intelligence tracks locations of these aircraft carriers using the available open-source information. No classified information was used in production of the map. Some developments: The Harry S. Truman carrier strike group is carrying military drills in the Mediterranean Sea. It’s interesting to note that the drills are ongoing amid a simultaneous escalation in Syria ( a chemical attack on Aleppo city ) and the Black Sea region ( an incident between a Ukrainian naval group and Russian coastal guards ). Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier is still spending time near Norfolk following F-35 drills in the nearby area. Click to see the full-size image

On November 26,  the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) released a detailed timeline and description of provocative actions of the Ukrainain naval group in the Black Sea  on November 24 and November 25. SouthFront ptovides an exclusive translation of the FSB statement (emphasis added): At 16:40 24.11.2018  inside the Russian Federation’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), in about 28-30 miles southeast of cape Meganom, forces and means of the Border Service of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) in Crimea detected warships of the Ukrainian Navy: support ship “Gorlovka” (hull No U-753) and the sea tug “Yany Kapu” (hull No A-947), which were avdancing to the northeast in the direction of the Kerch Strait. At 21:30  when the group of warships of the Ukrainian Navy approached the state border of the Russian Federation, PSKA-302  (SF: Russian Coast Guard the Sobol-class patrol boat, also known as Project 12200) informed them about  the procedure for crossing of the state borde

On November 27 th ,  Ukraine’s state security agency confirmed that its intelligence officers were among the crew of the seized Ukrainian ships. According to the SBU’s statement the officers were fulfilling counterintelligence operations for the Ukrainian navy, in response to “psychological and physical pressure” by Russian spy services. No details were provided, however it demanded that Russia stop any such activity. Late on November 26 th , Russia’s FSB said that there were SBU officers on board the ships, saying that  this is another proof of a provocation staged by Ukraine. The Russian FSB security agency released a video of three crewmembers of the detained Ukrainian gunboats. In the interviews, the three seamen all confirmed that they violated the Russian border. Mainstream media scrutinizes the interviews, claiming that the men are talking “under duress” and that one of them “was clearly reading from a teleprompter”. In an escalation of absurdity, Chief of the Gene