The Russian Pacific Fleet said on Thursday that several Russian warships had “crossed the Bab al-Mandab Strait into the Red Sea,” amid attacks launched by the Houthi rebels in Yemen on commercial ships.

The Zvezda TV channel, affiliated with the Russian Ministry of Defense, quoted the fleet as saying, “The cruiser (Varyag) and the frigate (Marshal Shaposhnikov) are participating in the trip.”

The Iran-backed Houthis have been carrying out attacks on ships they say are linked to Israel since November in "solidarity" with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. But many of the attacks attempted to target ships that had no connection to Israel.

On Wednesday, the US military said that it “destroyed 4 long-range drones” launched by the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen.

The US military said on Wednesday that it had destroyed four long-range drones launched by the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen.

The US Central Command stated, in a post on “X”, that the drones “were targeting an American warship” in the Red Sea.

It confirmed that no casualties or damage to American ships or coalition forces had been reported.

The statement said that these measures “are being taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer for the US Navy and commercial ships.”

The Houthi attacks have greatly disrupted international maritime trade in the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.

In the face of this, the United States established a multinational naval protection force in the Red Sea in December, and together with Britain launched strikes against Houthi positions in Yemen.