The US Navy's Sixth Fleet was tracking Russian aircraft carrier the Admiral Kuznetsov in the Mediterranean in 2011 because the Americans feared the Russian ship might start sinking, Brandon Weichert, a columnist for The National Interest said.
"This was not because the Americans, as they did in the glory days of the Cold War, feared the Russian military's prowess. Instead, it was because the Americans were convinced the warship was going to sink at any moment. The Sixth Fleet was ordered to track the carrier and be prepared to render aid whenever the ship eventually sank," the author wrote.
In July, the Izvestia newspaper, citing the Russian Defense Ministry, reported that the Russian Navy started forming aircrews for the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier.
In July 2023, TASS, citing its own source in the Russian shipbuilding industry, reported that the repaired and modernized Admiral Kuznetsov could be transferred to the Russian Navy as early as in late 2024.