Lauren Frias
The Ukrainian navy has decimated the Russian Black Sea Fleet, taking out nearly a third of Russia's vessels in less than two years.
With no warships in their arsenal, Ukrainian forces have relied on unmanned maritime drones and long-range anti-ship missiles to hammer Russia's fleet.
Dmytro Pletenchuk, a spokesman for the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said in a public statement that the Russian Navy had approximately 80 warships at the outset of the invasion, including large warships, landing ships, submarines, patrol boats, and minesweepers.
As of earlier this week, 25 vessels have been destroyed, and 15 more are under repair, he said.
"I can say that the Black Sea Fleet operations have been greatly complicated, if not paralyzed," Pletenchuk said.
The attacks have allowed Ukraine to resume the grain shipments through the Black Sea central to its economy and forced the Black Sea Fleet to shift warships away from Crimea, its prized naval homeport.
Several Russian ships that Ukraine claimed to have destroyed have yet to be identified, but reportedly among them are Raptor-class patrol boats, a BK-16 high-speed assault boat, a Serna-class landing craft, and a Stenka-class patrol vessel.
Here are the warships Russia is known to have lost over the past two years.
March 24, 2022: The Saratov
The Saratov, a military ship from the Russian Navy heading to the Black Sea from the Sea of Marmara near Istanbul, Turkey.
Commissioned in 1968, the Saratov is a large Alligator-class amphibious landing warship in the Black Sea Fleet. It was reactivated to transport supplies and support Russian military operations in Syria.
The ship could carry about 400 troops, as well as 20 main battle tanks or 45 armored vehicles.
While the ship was docked in occupied Berdiansk in Zaporizhzhia Oblast on March 24, 2022, Ukrainian forces reportedly sank it with a Soviet Tochka-U short-range ballistic missile.
Video of the incident appears to show fire erupting above the wreck of the ship near the port as other Russian warships sail to escape the flames.
April 14, 2022: The Moskva
The Moskva, a guided missile cruiser, participates in a Russian military Navy Day parade near the Ukrainian town of Sevastopol.
In a significant blow, the Black Sea Fleet lost its flagship, the Moskva, a guided missile cruiser, after it sank on April 14, 2022. It marked the first time a Russian flagship was sunk since the Russo-Japanese War from 1904 to 1905.
At the onset of the invasion, the Moskva provided air cover for other warships and aided in capturing Snake Island in late February 2022.
Ukraine claimed to have struck the cruiser with long-range Neptune missiles launched from shore.
June 17, 2022: The Vasily Bekh
The rescuer tugboat Spasatel Vasily Bekh of the Black Sea Fleet.
The Vasily Bekh, a Russian rescue tugboat, joined the Black Sea Fleet in 2017, intended to provide emergency rescue and towing of ships, evacuate maritime crews, and conduct diving operations and survey work. The Russian tugboat was also used to transport ammunition, weapons, and personnel to Snake Island.
But the rescue tug's time in the fleet came to an end on June 17, 2022, after Ukrainian forces said they struck and "successfully demilitarized" the Vasily Bekh with two Harpoon missiles. The attack marked the first time Ukraine hit a Russian vessel with Western-supplied anti-ship rockets.
August 4, 2023: The Olenegorskiy Gornyak
The Russian Navy's large landing ship Olenegorsky Gornyak sets sail in the Bosphorus, on its way to the Black Sea, in Istanbul, Turkey.
The Olenegorskiy Gornyak is a Ropucha-class tank landing ship designed to quickly unload cargo and transport amphibious forces to land.
At 360 feet long, Ropucha-class warships can land up to 10 battle tanks and carry up to 350 troops.
On August 4, 2023, the Russian warship was left badly damaged after it was struck by a Ukrainian sea drone armed with explosives — the first of many ships to fall to attack drones that could reach warships out of missile range. Russia acknowledged the attack but claimed that the Olenegorskiy Gornyak was left unharmed, but video footage of the attack suggested otherwise.
In the video, the sea drone can be seen zooming toward the landing ship and slamming into the side of it before the feed cuts off after detonating.
September 13, 2023: The Minsk
Russian Navy's large landing ship Minsk is seen in the Neva River in St. Petersburg.
A little over a month later, another Ropucha-class landing vessel was struck on September 13, 2023, while in dry-dock undergoing maintenance at the Sevmorzadov shipyard in Russian-occupied Crimea.
Open-source imagery of the aftermath showed that the Minsk has "almost certainly been functionally destroyed," the UK Ministry of Defense said. A month later, satellite imagery reportedly showed the Minsk had been dismantled.
"The Minsk may be disassembled for spare parts, if there are any left there at all," Ukrainian Navy spokesman Pletenchuk said.
September 13, 2023: The Rostov-on-Don
Russia's Navy officers, officials, and workers attend a ceremony launching the Rostov-on-Don, a Russian diesel-electric torpedo submarine, at the Admiralteyskiye Verfi shipyard in St. Petersburg.
Alongside the Minsk, the Kilo 636.3 class submarine Rostov-on-Don also "suffered catastrophic damage," the UK Defense Ministry said in an intelligence report. The submarine was also undergoing repairs at the Sevmorzadov shipyard.
"Any effort to return the submarine to service is likely to take many years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars," the ministry continued.
November 4, 2023: The Askold
Missile ships Tsyklon and Askold are seen at the Zaliv shipyard in Kerch, Crimea.
The Russian Navy also lost one of its brand-new warships before it had the chance to join the Black Sea Fleet.
Lt. Gen. Mykola Oleshchuk, commander of Ukraine's Air Force, said Ukrainian forces targeted the Zaliv shipyard in Russian-occupied Crimea, causing significant damage to the Project 22800 Karakurt-class corvette, the Askold.
Less than a week later, two more Russian vessels were hit by Ukrainian sea drones, though it was not immediately clear which ships were targeted.
December 26, 2023: The Novocherkassk
The Russian Navy's large landing ship Novocherkassk sets sail in the Bosphorus, on its way to the Mediterranean Sea, in Istanbul, Turkey.
To cap off a devastating year for the Russian Navy, Ukrainian forces launched guided missiles at the Ropucha-class landing ship, the Novocherkassk, at the town of Feodosiya in Russian-occupied Crimea.
"Russia's fleet is getting smaller and smaller!" Oleshchuk, the air force commander, wrote on Telegram along with footage of the explosion.
A Russian-appointed governor claimed only one person was killed, and two were injured in the attack, an unlikely outcome since the ship has a crew of about 100; independent Russian journalists reported dozens were wounded or missing.
January 31, 2024: The Ivanovets
Russian Navy's Tarantul-class corvette Ivanovets is escorted by a Turkish Navy Coast Guard boat.
In the latest of Ukraine's string of attacks against the Black Sea Fleet, a Ukrainian special military unit sank a small warship, the Ivanovets, with six satellite-controlled naval drones powered by Jet Skis in an overnight operation on January 31.
The Ivanovets is a Tarantul-class missile corvette armed with supersonic anti-ship missiles and antiaircraft missiles.
Video shared by the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine appears to show the drone approaching the Ivanovets. Following a massive explosion, the vessel can be seen listing before descending stern-first into the water.
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