Russia 'clearly threatened' as no warships in the Mediterranean: 'It's a shambles'

Russia appears to be defenceless in the region. 22:40, Fri, Aug 21, 2026 Updated: 22:41, Fri, Aug 21, 2026 Vladimir Putin's warships are too busy protecting shadow tankers to patrol the Mediterranean (Image: Getty)Russia reportedly has no warships in the Mediterranean Sea for the first time in over a decade with one source describing its fleet a "shambles". Russian President Vladimir Putin is reported to have withdrawn warships from the region to guard shadow oil tankers.A NATO official told The Telegraph there has been nothing in the Med since June for the first time in more than 10 years, adding this was "pretty significant". The official said: "They’re not a global navy if they’re not deployed all over the world... Russia clearly feels threatened." Get the latest news from around the wo