ALERT: Russian Destroyer Shadows German Frigate Bayern Near Strategic German Naval Base Rostock.

According to information published by the German newspaper Bild on May 28, 2025, the German Navy frigate Bayern was pursued over several days by the Russian destroyer Vice-Admiral Kulakov from the Norwegian Sea all the way to the naval base of Rostock. The incident occurred in the wake of NATO’s Dynamic Mongoose exercise, a major anti-submarine warfare operation held in the GIUK (Greenland-Iceland-UK) gap, a strategic zone essential for securing transatlantic maritime routes between North America and Europe. Until May 12, 2025, the Bayern, a Brandenburg-class F123 frigate, and the U33 submarine of the German Navy participated in these NATO-led drills aimed at countering submarine threats in the North Atlantic region.
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German Navy frigate Bayern returns to the naval base of Rostock under surveillance after being shadowed by the Russian destroyer Vice Admiral Kulakov following NATO anti-submarine exercise Dynamic Mongoose 2025 in the North Atlantic. (Picture source: Wikimedia)

Following the exercise, the Bayern set sail toward Rostock to prepare for NATO’s BALTOPS 25 naval exercise scheduled to begin in the Baltic Sea on June 3. However, the return voyage became highly unusual when the Russian destroyer Vice-Admiral Kulakov, of the Udaloy-class, reportedly broke formation from a separate Russian anti-submarine exercise held near the Kola Peninsula. According to Bild, the Kulakov had been operating alongside another Udaloy-class destroyer, the Severomorsk, before altering course to shadow the Bayern. From there, the Russian vessel tracked the German frigate along Norway’s northern coast in what appears to have been a calculated pursuit.

The situation escalated as both warships approached Danish waters near Skagen, at the northern tip of the Jutland Peninsula. At that point, the Danish Navy deployed the frigate Iver Huitfeldt to monitor the Russian destroyer’s movement. The Iver Huitfeldt followed the Kulakov through the Great Belt, one of the critical maritime passages into the Baltic Sea. The Bayern reached Rostock on May 25, but the presence of the Russian ship near German territorial waters raised alarm.

This kind of extended shadowing operation is highly unusual. Standard naval practice typically involves escorting or warning away foreign warships that get too close to sensitive zones, as seen recently when the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Dragon chased away the Russian intelligence ship Yury Ivanov near the Outer Hebrides. In this case, the roles were reversed, with a NATO vessel being persistently trailed by a Russian warship throughout an extended stretch of European waters.

Commenting on the incident, Germany’s maritime coordinator Christoph Ploß stated that the event highlights the urgent need to reinforce protection of national ports and coastal infrastructure. He called for faster investment in port security measures and warned of the growing Russian maritime threat, particularly in light of Moscow’s increasingly assertive posture in the Baltic. This includes unauthorized naval drills, the creation of exclusion zones, and the escort of shadow fleets used to bypass Western sanctions on Russian oil exports.

The incident also reflects a broader trend of Russian naval forces intensifying their monitoring of NATO maritime movements even within traditional NATO-controlled areas. Intelligence assessments indicate that Russia has increased its forward-deployed naval presence in key chokepoints like the GIUK gap, Skagerrak, and the entrance to the Baltic Sea. These activities are interpreted as part of a wider effort to assert strategic deterrence, disrupt NATO logistics flows, and test allied naval readiness. The Kulakov’s pursuit of the Bayern fits into this pattern of aggressive intelligence gathering and psychological pressure against NATO vessels.

The German frigate Bayern is a multi-role surface combatant of the Brandenburg-class (F123), designed primarily for anti-submarine warfare but also capable of surface and anti-air operations. Commissioned in 1996, the Bayern displaces 4,900 tons and is armed with RIM-162 ESSM surface-to-air missiles, Harpoon anti-ship missiles, a 76mm naval gun, and torpedoes. It is equipped with hull-mounted and towed array sonar systems, and supports a Sea Lynx Mk88A helicopter for maritime reconnaissance and submarine detection missions. The frigate regularly participates in NATO exercises and multinational deployments, demonstrating the German Navy’s commitment to alliance operations in contested zones.

The Vice-Admiral Kulakov is an Udaloy I-class anti-submarine destroyer, part of Russia’s Northern Fleet, designed during the Soviet era for blue-water ASW missions. Commissioned in 1981 and later modernized, the Kulakov displaces 7,500 tons and is equipped with RBU-6000 rocket launchers, torpedoes, SS-N-14 anti-submarine missiles, and long-range surface-to-air systems. The destroyer also operates a Ka-27 helicopter for extended ASW patrols. Though aging, the ship remains active and is frequently deployed to signal Russia’s naval presence in sensitive international waters.

The German naval base at Rostock, located on the Baltic Sea coast in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, serves as one of the Bundeswehr’s primary maritime hubs. Home to units of the 1st Corvette Squadron and key logistic and support elements, the base provides operational infrastructure for frigates, corvettes, submarines, and support ships assigned to the Baltic region. Rostock’s strategic position enables the German Navy to rapidly deploy assets into the Baltic Sea, participate in multinational training activities, and contribute to NATO’s maritime deterrence posture along Europe’s northeastern flank. The arrival of the Bayern at this facility under close Russian observation raises new concerns about port surveillance and potential vulnerabilities in the alliance’s maritime rear areas.

This latest incident between the Bayern and Vice-Admiral Kulakov represents a stark reminder of the strategic tension building across NATO’s northern and eastern flanks. With the Baltic and North Atlantic maritime domains becoming arenas of high-stakes power projection, the risks of miscalculation or confrontation continue to grow. NATO’s response will likely include increased vigilance, enhanced surveillance patrols, and reinforcement of maritime domain awareness to deter further Russian incursions into NATO-monitored sea lanes.