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Three combat ships of the Black Sea Fleet joined the permanent naval force of the Russian navy in the Mediterranean Sea, head of the fleet’s communication department Captain Vyacheslav Trukhachev said, according to Sputnik.

Currently, some 10 combat and service ships are stationed with the Russian naval task force in the Mediterranean Sea.

"Three combat ships – the escort vessel Ladny and amphibious ships Saratov and Yamal – joined Russian naval forces in the Mediterranean Sea," Trukhachev said.

He added that operation command is executed from the large destroyer ship Severomorsk of the Russia’s Northern Fleet.

Russia began forming the Mediterranean squadron in March 2013, when it sent a unit of Pacific Fleet ships to the region. Now, ships of the Pacific, Northern, Baltic and Black Sea fleets make up the squadron on a rotation basis. Material support for the squadron comes from the naval facility located in the port of the city of Tartus, Syria.