Russia Sending Another Navy Ship to the Eastern Mediterranean

Spy ship was sent to the region on Monday

Russia is sending the naval landing ship Nikolai Filchenov to the eastern Mediterranean, reinforcing its presence near Syria, according to state news agency Interfax.

The news comes after Vladimir Putin's government sent a reconnaissance ship, the Priazovye, to the same area on Monday "to gather current information in the area of escalating conflict," according to a military source quoted by the agency.

The Kremlin, which continues to back the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, said its ships in the eastern Mediterranean guarantee security as the United States considers launching punitive military strikes on the Middle Eastern country for its alleged use of chemical weapons.