The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed that on the night of May 19, the Ukrainian Defense Forces struck the Russian Project 22800 Cyclone missile ship in Sevastopol.
Earlier, it was announced that the Russian naval minesweeper “Kovrovets”, which is part of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, had been destroyed. “The Ukrainian Defense Forces have destroyed the naval minesweeper “Kovrovets”, ”the morning summary of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for May 19 reported.
The Navy clarified that the minesweeper was destroyed on the night of May 19.
However, within a day, information appeared in Russian military telegram channels that another ship had actually been destroyed - the carrier of the Calibers, the Cyclone, with which Russia is attacking Ukraine.
On May 21, the General Staff confirmed this information, adding that the ship was hit in Sevastopol.
Russia has not officially reported the destruction of either of these two ships.
However, the occupation leader of Sevastopol, Mykhailo Razvozhaev, reported at midnight on May 19 about a missile attack on Crimea, which, he said, was repelled by air defense.
“According to the Sevastopol rescue service, no damage to civilian infrastructure was recorded,” he emphasized.
Information from Razvozhaev indicates that Sevastopol was attacked with cluster munitions. The Russian Ministry of Defense also confirmed this information.
“By means of regular air defense, 9 ATACMS operational-tactical missiles and one UAV were destroyed over the territory of the Republic of Crimea,” the ministry said in a statement.
Over the past two weeks, Ukraine has repeatedly attacked Russian military facilities in Crimea, including the Belbek airfield. According to the Russians, the strikes were carried out using ATACMS cluster munitions supplied by the United States.
According to Russian open sources, the Cyclone is a Project 22800 missile ship (also known by the codename Karakurt).
This new ship was only handed over to the Russian Navy in July 2023.
Regarding its technical characteristics: displacement is 800 tons, length – 65 meters, width – 10 meters, draft – 4 meters. Maximum speed reaches 30 knots, and cruising range – 2,500 miles at a speed of 12 knots. Autonomy is 15 days.
The ship is armed with a vertical launch system for Onyx and Caliber-NK missiles, a modernized 76.2 mm AK-176MA artillery mount, and a Palash anti-aircraft missile system.
Russia has frequently used Onyx and Caliber missiles in its attacks on Ukraine. Experts believe that Cyclone may be the last missile-class surface ship in the Black Sea Fleet, although submarines remain.
Ukrainian military experts claim that the destruction of such a modern missile ship is a significant achievement for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, compared to the sinking of a minesweeper, which was reported earlier.
“Kovrovets” is a naval minesweeper designed for a variety of tasks, such as trawling ships and vessels, reconnaissance and control trawling, laying fairways in minefields, and participating in minelaying in areas remote from their bases.
This ship joined the Black Sea Fleet exactly 50 years ago. It was actively involved in protecting Soviet industrial vessels in fishing zones in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of West Africa.
“Kovrovets” also participated in solving mine countermeasures tasks for Soviet shipping in the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq War.
In 1987, he led 16 convoys (27 Soviet ships) through areas with explosive zones, traveling 17,900 miles.
In 1988, the ship escorted 32 tankers and transports through mine-prone areas of the Persian Gulf.
Since February 2016, the Kovrovets has been conducting mine counter-terrorism patrols off the coast of Syria.
From January to May 2017, he participated in the permanent operational formation of the Russian Navy in the Mediterranean Sea.
The ship's crew is 68 people, its displacement is 745 tons (full load – 800 tons), its length is 61 meters, and its width is 10.2 meters.
On board the “Kovrovets” there is a powerful acoustic and radar system, “Strela-2” anti-aircraft missile systems, artillery and machine gun installations, and a rocket launcher.
In May 2017, Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported that the Kovrovets had set a record for the longest duration of combat service in a distant sea zone.
This minesweeper spent 132 days on combat duty in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Syria, searching for mines that were reportedly planted by ISIS militants.
RIA Novosti reported in February 2016 that, although there are doubts about ISIS's ability to replace approaches to naval bases without sea carriers, regular trawling is planned off the coast of Syria to ensure the safety of ships and crews.
The Kovrovets arrived off the coast of Syria to replace another minesweeper, the Ivan Golubets.
This ship also suffered from a Ukrainian attack. In October 2022, naval drones of the Armed Forces of Ukraine attacked a minesweeper in the bay of Sevastopol.
The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed the damage to the Ivan Golubets.
The Russian authorities did not comment on the possible damage to the minesweeper "Kovrovets".
