Russian newspaper has estimated the cost of the aircraft carrier campaign in Syria to be $170 million
The trip of the Admiral Kuznetsov Russian aircraft carrier and a group of ships led by her to join the Russian Air Force in Syria cost Russia at least 7.5 billion rubles, as was reported by RBC.
"The use in the military operation in Syria of a naval group led by the heavy aircraft-carrying missile cruiser Admiral Flota Sovetskovo Soyuza Kuznetsov cost Russia between 7.5 billion ($126.7 million) and 10 billion rubles ($168.9 million),” the message says.
The estimated expenditures of the operation were calculated based on export prices for aircraft and fuel, as well as the cost of maintaining crews and equipment, as identified by military experts. The main expenses are associated with the loss of two deck-based fighters, a MiG-29 and a Su-33, which crashed during landing. Their replacement will cost up to 6.5 billion rubles ($109.8 million).
The authors of the budget report emphasized that the actual costs of the campaign could be much higher, as the Russian Defense Ministry did not publish information regarding the use of the submarine fleet or the group of armed ships.
According to RBC estimates, the first year of the Russian Air Force operation in Syria cost almost 60 billion rubles ($1.014 billion) overall.
The journey of the aircraft carrier battle group to the Mediterranean began in October 2016, and in early January 2017 it was announced that the ships were returning to Russian ports. The Russian Defense Ministry reported that during their participation in the operation, marine aircraft flew 420 sorties. The low-speed voyage of the Admiral Kuznetsov (for fuel economy, as everybody refused to refuel it on its way home), during which she emitted black smoke, caused much ridicule in the world press.
The head of the Ministry of Defence of Britain has even called the Admiral Kuznetsov Russian aircraft carrier a "ship of shame."