Several Russian warships entered the Red Sea

(Patria) - Russian warships from the Pacific Fleet have crossed the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and entered the Red Sea, state news agency TASS announced, venturing into a maritime region hit by Houthi attacks and crowded with naval vessels, Bloomberg reported.

The detachment included the missile cruiser Varyag and the frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov, TASS reported on Thursday, citing the press service of the Russian Pacific Fleet, which stated that the ships were carrying out "assigned tasks as part of a long-range maritime campaign".

The ultimate destination was unclear from the report, as was the reason why Russia sent the ships there.

For months, Yemen's Houthis have been carrying out attacks on ships in the Red Sea in retaliation for Israeli military actions in Gaza, forcing many ships to reroute their journeys.

The group told China and Russia earlier this month that their ships could sail through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden without being attacked. In return, the two countries could provide political support to the Houthis in bodies like the UN Security Council, according to several sources.

The Houthis say they are targeting ships linked to Israel, the US, and the UK.

Nevertheless, they seem to have misidentified some vessels. Missiles exploded near a ship carrying Russian oil in late January, days after a Houthi spokesperson told Russian newspapers that Russian and Chinese merchant ships did not need to fear attacks.

The Houthis fired a missile at the Chinese oil tanker Huang Pu on Saturday, the US Central Command said, highlighting the risks to shipping in the waters off Yemen despite the agreement.

Since the attacks began, most Western shipping companies have avoided the strait and are instead going around southern Africa.

US and British warships in the Red Sea have been striking Houthi targets for weeks in an attempt to deter the group from attacking merchant ships, while Iran, which supports the Houthis, has a spy ship just off the Red Sea. A French ship is also nearby.

Earlier this month, Iran, Russia, and China held joint naval exercises in the Indian Ocean, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Both the Varyag and Marshal Shaposhnikov participated in the exercises, which Russia said were aimed at practicing "security in maritime economic activities," including the liberation of ships hijacked by pirates.

Russia has sought a naval base on the Red Sea in Sudan, although the civil conflict in that country could thwart those plans.