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🚨🚨This week Spain will welcomed Russian Navy back into its ports for refueling and resupplying. The brand new corvette Vasily Bykov left Ceuta today. The U.S. should make it crystal clear to Spain that this is unacceptable. ceutaldia.com/articulo/puert…
The Vasily Bykov is based in the Black Sea and enables Russia’s continued illegal occupation of #Crimea. In April it was involved with tracking US Navy operating in the Black Sea ahvalnews-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/ahvalnews.…
Last November it was reported that Spain was going to host 3 Russian warships in its ports but at the last minute did not go ahead due to international pressure. heritage.org/defense/report…
In October 2016, after mounting international pressure, Spain withdrew its military support for the Russian navy until this week. Now, between 2011 and 2019 (with a 2.5 year gap) Spain granted at least 63 Russian navy vessels use of Ceuta to resupply and refuel.
At least 26 Russian navy vessels visited Spain to refuel and resupply between Russia’s invasion of Crimea in March 2014 and June 2019. Truly unbelievable from a NATO and EU member.
Four of the five most recent Russian ships to visit Spain, the frigates Yaroslav Mudry and Ladny, and the corvettes Zeleny Dol and Serpukhov, have participated in Russia’s military operations to prop up *Syrian dictator Bashir al-Assad*.
If you were wondering, Ceuta is a Spanish enclave with a population of 73,000 in North Africa bordering Morocco. It is legally part of Spain and it is 1 of 2 EU cities located in mainland Africa (other is Melilla ). It is also part of the Schengen Agreement and the eurozone.
So while Madrid cries about British sovereignty over Gibraltar, Spain has these possessions in North Africa 👇 #Hypocrisy 
Considering current state of relations between West & Russia, it is the height of irresponsibility for Madrid to once again allow Russian Navy use of Ceuta. This is especially true for those ships participating in illegal occupation of Crimea or continued support for Assad.
