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[ed. <u+2013> this passive-aggressive bs obama is so fond of is nauseating. what, like russia can<u+2019>t find another way to refuel in the med? if we<u+2019>re going to oppose russian policy, then frigging oppose russian policy. do something real. don<u+2019>t just skitter around like the village idiot tagging russia and then running away.] 




on thursday, malta withdrew permission for a russian navy replenishment tanker to refuel at its port. uk and american diplomats had applied pressure to the maltese government to deny access to the tanker, as they believed the fuel would be used to replenish the admiral kuznetsov battlegroup. the carrier and seven accompanying vessels are believed to be headed to syria to support the siege of aleppo. 




earlier this week, spain cancelled permission for the kuznetsov<u+2019>s auxiliaries to take on fuel at the north african port territory of ceuta. the spanish government had come under intense diplomatic pressure to deny access to the russian vessels. 




russian officials say that the kuznetsov battlegroup carries enough supplies to be self-sustaining for at least 45 days, and several military spokespeople denied that they had ever asked for formal permission to call at ceuta or malta.
spain, malta, under u.s./uk pressure, refuse to allow russian carrier group to refuel in their ports
j.e. dyer