Until it is known whether or not there was an explosion on board, or whether the vessel hit something, the Russian press remains bewildered as to why the flagship of the Northern Fleet is lying on the bottom of the Barents Sea, with 116 crew members on board.

BBC: Russian media asks 'What happened?'

It is worth noting that the landing craft in question, while they have not been named in any of the reporting, are very clearly not the landing craft from the Black Sea fleet that were at the center of the controversy in late June but totally different ships from the Northern Fleet.

FORBES: The Russians Are Sending Ships to Syria (Again)

If Russia was genuinely interested in providing some kind of naval assistance to its Syrian ally, or in conducting some sort of an evacuation, using ships from the Northern Fleet makes absolutely no sense: Russia has ships in the Black Sea that are much closer and that could be on station in a matter of days.

FORBES: The Russians Are Sending Ships to Syria (Again)

In addition, SEDENA posted a liaison officer at U.S. Northern Command headquarters in 2009, and SEMAR has liaison officers posted at Joint Inter-Agency Task Force (JIATF)-South and Fleet Forces Command, in addition to U.S. Northern Command.

WHITEHOUSE: Strengthen International Partnerships