Russia is stepping up anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden by sending a task force from the country's Pacific Fleet.
The task force, consisting of the Admiral Panteleyev destroyer, a salvage tugboat, and a tanker, will leave Vladivostok on Sunday for Somalia, reports quoting a fleet spokesman said on Friday.
The warship is a missile destroyer, armed with anti-ship missiles, 30-mm and 100-mm guns, and Ka-27 Helix helicopters.
A destroyer and a tanker are expected to return to their home base in Vladivostok in April first week after completing their three month-long anti-piracy mission around the Horn of Africa.
Around 20 warships from the navies of the NATO, the European Union, Russia, China, and India are patrolling off the Somali cost to protect one of the world's busiest shipping routes.
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