Ukrainian Navy press service May 19th reported a successful destruction of the Kovrovets minesweeper ship of russian naval forces. No further details were provided, however, chances are high that the strike launched that time landed on not one but two ships.
Sources in russia claimed on the same day that two ATACMS missiles hit the Tsiklon corvette stationed at the time in the Sevastopol port, killing six marines and injuring 11. Belonging to Project 22800 Karakurt class, Tsiklon is a battleship that can carry and launch Kalibr land attack cruise missiles that the russian forces systematically use for long-range attacks on Ukraine.
Read more: Ukraine Destroys russian Kovrovets Vessel
The Ukrainian military, though, is wary of these reports coming from the russian side. The information is being verified, says its Ukrainian Navy Spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk in an interview with RFE/RL:
"In order to be 100 percent sure, we have to receive the results of the objective [battle damage] assessment. As soon as we get these results, we'll make sure to inform the public. But indeed, there is a high chance that there's no longer a single Kalibr carrier now in Crimea, if the information about Tsiklon is confirmed."
Preliminary, two battleships were affected by the strike, he noted. This detail reaffirms the fact that Kovrovets was also hit, not just misidentified. Besides, we must note that while Tsiklon was the only carrier of Kalibr cruise missiles deployed at the naval base in Sevastopol, russian forces also keep a fleet of other Kalibr-capable vessels at another base, in Novorossiysk. These include Project 11356R frigates, Buyan-M missile corvettes, and semi-submerged Varshavyanka submarines — detailed analysis here.
According to Pletenchuk, the russians were utilizing their Tisklon foremostly as a platform for a Pantsir-S anti-aircraft system. Moreover, the ship was one of the newest in the Black Sea Fleet of russia and hasn't fired a Kalibr even once:
"So it turns out that if the information is confirmed, it will become a 'stillborn child' that was a [Kalibr] carrier yet never used as one."
On a reminder from Defense Express, Tsiklon became the first russian Project 22800 Karakurt-class warship in the Black Sea and fourth overall in all fleets. It was commissioned to the Black Sea Fleet of the russian Navy in June 2023, and entered its first combat duty in August same year. The specifications and capabilities of this ship were discussed in our dedicated article.
Read more: Satellite Shows Two russian Submarines Semi-Submerged at Novorossiysk Base
