The Ukrainian military confirmed it struck a significant blow to Russia’s naval capability in the Black Sea by destroying the Tsiklon, a Russian missile ship, in Crimea. The successful operation took place overnight on May 19 when the Ukrainian defense forces hit the Tsiklon in the port of Sevastopol.
As Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk stated earlier, the destruction of the vessel means there are no longer any surface Kalibr missile carriers stationed in Crimea. The vessel, a Project 22800 Karakurt-class corvette, was reportedly the last Russian warship armed with cruise missiles stationed on the Moscow-controlled peninsula of Crimea. The Tsiklon, which had been in combat duty since June of the previous year, never fired a cruise missile while on active service, added Pletenchuk in televised comments.
This attack represents a significant setback for the Russian Black Sea Fleet, which had already been compelled to reposition most of its major warships from Crimean ports to safer locations, following a series of Ukrainian missile and maritime drone strikes. In recent times, these tactics have caused considerable damage to at least 17 vessels of the Russian fleet, including the Moskva, the Fleet’s flagship, early in the war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine provided updated information, confirming the targeting of the Tsiklon, and the Ukrainian Navy later stated that the vessel had been “destroyed”. These statements, however, could not be independently verified as of the latest reports and there has been no immediate comment from the Russian side.
Russian defense ministry had previously claimed on Sunday that its forces had shot down nine U.S. ATACMS missiles over Crimea. The Russian-installed governor, Mikhail Razvozhayev, reported that no injuries occurred during the attack, but some residential buildings suffered damage.
Ukraine has been utilizing a mix of missile systems and a fleet of maritime suicide drones to counter Russian dominance in the Black Sea, despite lacking a powerful naval fleet of its own. The pro-Ukrainian monitoring Telegram channel Crimean Wind additionally noted that the Tsiklon ship vanished following the Ukrainian assault on May 19, indicating that the small missile vessel may have been targeted.
The destruction of Tsiklon, alongside another Russian 266-M Kovrovets project minesweeper, underscores the tactical gains by Ukraine in the maritime domain. It has allowed Kyiv to seize the initiative in the Black Sea, undermining Moscow’s capacity to project power and carry out missile strikes on Ukrainian territory from the sea.
With the rest of Russia’s missile carriers now based at Novorossiysk, far from the annexed peninsula of Crimea, the latest strike appears to have significantly curtailed Russia’s naval reach in the region.
Relevant articles:
– Ukraine says it destroys Russian missile ship in Crimea strike, reuters.com, 05/22/2024
– Ukraine destroys Tsyklon, Russia’s last surface Kalibr missile ship in occupied Crimea, Euromaidan Press, 05/21/2024
– Ukraine says it may have destroyed Russia’s last cruise missile carrier based out of Crimea, Business Insider, 05/21/2024
– Ukraine sinks Russian missile ship Tsiklon in occupied Crimea, Yahoo! Voices, 05/21/2024
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