“Two major amphibious ships, The Nikolai Filchenkov and The Tsezar Kunikov,  are preparing to be dispatched to Tartus outside of their schedule.”-unnamed Russian naval officer

18 June 2012, speculation that the two Russian assault ships are being sent to evacuate Russian citizens living in Syria.

Russia news media, Interfax, says the ships are carrying marines, and are capable of evacuating Russian nationals. According to Interfax, the Tsezar Kunikov can carry 150 marines along with weapon systems including tanks, while the Nikolai Filchenkov can carry up to 1,500 metric tons of cargo and equipment.

The unofficial announcement came as U.S. President Barack Obama, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, began talks concerning UN Security Council action regarding Syria.