The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine officially reported that the Karakurt class Tsiklon corvette of Project 22800 was hit. It happened after several days of clarification about the actual results of the strike on the bay in the temporarily occupied Sevastopol on the night of May 19.
It should be noted that, Ukrainian Navy earlier reported that an undeclared weapon attack had sunk russian Kovrovets minesweeper of Project 266M Aquamarine.
Read more: Formerly Estonian, NAVY 18 WP Ships Head Out for Their First Combat Duty in Ukrainian Navy (Video)
But russian propagandists immediately began to complain that their Tsiklon corvette had been lost. Six servicemen were allegedly killed as well as 11 were wounded. However, as of Monday, May 20, Ukrainian Navy was not ready to confirm this particular outcome of the strike.
But now the fate of Tsiklon has become known. However, it should be noted that the General Staff of Ukraine used the term "affected".
It means that the corvette was at least damaged. It should also be noted that it remains unknown what weapon was exactly used for strike. According to unofficial sources, the ATACMS ballistic missiles were used.
Anyway, the defeat of this corvette is an extremely positive aspect. Because we are talking about a carrier of Kalibr cruise missiles and P-800 Oniks anti-ship missiles (8 launch facilities). This is also good news because the Karakurt class corvettes of Project 22800 received a naval variant of the Pantsir-ME SAM system.
Moreover, Tsiklon is the newest ship of russian Black Sea Fleet. It was handed over on July 12, 2023. It is two months later than Mercury corvette, which was built at the Baltic Sea and therefore it cannot cross the Bosphorus.
Earlier Defense Express reported Ukrainian border guards had destroyed two russian vessels with an FPV drone.
Read more: Ukraine's Magura Drone Attack in Vuzka Bay is More Than Just a Sunken Vessel but a Coordinated Strike
