I doubt the satilites are following it they kinda move to fast. but they are watching it no doubt. The Kuz though is just there as pageantry to Show the flag.
Heh! Heh!, to quote George W. Bush, I'm rather certain that you are "misunderestimating" Putin's contempt for BHO, HRC and that whole inept crew. He takes these accusations Hillary is using against Trump very seriously. Wiki Leaks are not being released by the Russian's but by Wiki, he is MAJOR PISSED! @ HRC in particular for naming him as their opposition. HRC is going to be sorry, because now he is "engaged" in actively undermining this current administration, and this is a golden opportunity to "show and tell".
The Kuz is not only travelling with the SU-33s, but the Mig 29Ks as they transition, and while there may not have many aircraft, they will take pains to place munitions on target, and their target is NO doubt those Syrian Rebels that Ambassador Stevens helped to arm-up as BHO/HRC attempted to oust Bashir Assad!
Why do you think the Russians/Syrians have hit them so many times, and while the carrier birds may only be a small part of that effort, I can assure you that there are other adequate resources to send the message!
and if HRC wins this election, this is only the beginning of Russian messages, trust me on this? I hope I'm wrong, but really, this is very basic and easy to predict.