MOSCOW, May 22. /TASS/. The Black Sea Fleet missile destroyer Smetlivy will join the Russian Navy’s Mediterranean task force, Fleet spokesman Captain 1st Rank Vyacheslav Trukhachyov said on Monday.

"The Black Sea Fleet’s guard ship Smetlivy, which took part in anti-submarine warfare drills and fired surface-to-air missiles against an air target the other day, has started accomplishing the task of a planned passage from Sevastopol to the Mediterranean Sea," the spokesman said.

The missile destroyer Smetlivy will join the Russian Navy’s permanent Mediterranean grouping in the distant maritime zone where up to 10 combat ships and support vessels of the Black Sea Fleet are currently operating, including the most advanced frigates Admiral Grigorovich and Admiral Essen, the Fleet spokesman said.