10 × main battle tanks and 340 troops or 12 × BTRAPC and 340 troops or 3 × main battle tanks, 3 × 2S9 Nona-SSPG, 5 × MT-LB APC, 4 trucks and 313 troops or 500 tons of cargo
On 14 February 2024, the Ukrainian military announced its forces had hit the ship with several unmanned surface vehicles (USV) while it was off Crimea, which they say caused it to sink.[3] The sinking of the ship has been confirmed by Russian sources.[3][failed verification]
Description
The ship can house a crew of 87 (89[4] according to one source) and had improved defensive armament.[3] During the Russo-Ukrainian War it was claimed to have been used to transport ammunition.[3]
Service history
The ship was built at the Stocznia Północna shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland, and launched on 30 October 1986.[1] It is named after Tsezar Kunikov, a Soviet naval infantry officer.[5]
She was in service with the Black Sea Fleet's 197th Landing Ship Brigade of the 30th Division of Surface Ships, and her home port is Sevastopol. She has been under the patronage of the city of Zelenograd (since 1998)[6] and Chelyabinsk Oblast (since 2011).[7]
The ship took part in several conflicts on behalf of the Russian Navy. In 1999 she and three other Black Sea Fleet landing ships were used for deployment of the Russian contingent on the KFOR mission in Kosovo.[8] The ship took part in the Russo-Georgian conflict in 2008.[3] In 2012 the landing craft was sent to the Russian military base at Tartus, Syria with a contingent of marines to protect the base.[9] In October 2015, Tsezar Kunikov was sent to Syria with a cargo of weapons and ammunition for the Syrian Arab Army.[10]
On 18 April 2022 it was reported that the ship's commander, Captain 3rd rank Alexander Chirva, died during the invasion of Ukraine.[14][15]
On 24 August 2022 it was reported that Tsezar Kunikov and Novocherkassk were out of action due to lack of spare parts to repair the ships. The lack of spare parts was attributed to the sanctions imposed on Russia.[16] According to Ukrainian spokespersons, the ship was later used to transport ammunition.[3]
On 14 February 2024, Ukrainian Armed Forces released a statement through Telegram that they had attacked the Tsezar Kunikov using MAGURA V5unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) while the ship was off Alupka in Crimea.[17] Loud explosions were reportedly heard in the region, according to posts on social media.[4] The attack was carried out by the special forces unit "Group 13", which also carried out the 1 February attack on the Russian missile boat Ivanovets.[17][5] In the statement, the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine said, "Tsezar Kunikov received a critical breach on the port side and started sinking."[3] The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said that Russian rescue operations were not successful and that they believe most of the crew of 87 did not survive.[4][18]
Ukraine later released grainy and edited video of the attack, showing the ship being attacked by USVs and receiving damage.[19][17] Analyzing the video, reporters at the BBC were able to verify the ship on the video was a Ropucha-class landing ship;[20]Reuters was able to identify the ship in the video as the Tsezar Kunikov but could not verify the date or location of the video.[3] According to the Associated Press, the private intelligence firm Ambrey concluded that the video showed the ship being attacked by three USVs, and that the ship likely sank after listing to its side.[5] There has been no additional confirmation of Ukrainian claims relating to the attack.[21][19] Ukraine said that the Tsezar Kunikov was the 25th Russian ship it had disabled.[17]Kyrylo Budanov later explained that, initially, Tsezar Kunikov was not the intended target of the 14 February strike, however due to changing conditions after the mission's commencement which prevented the original target from being struck, it was decided to change targets and attack Tsezar Kunikov instead.[22]
When asked for comment on the Tsezar Kunikov, both Russian military as well as Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to comment.[23][5][17] However, the Russian Defense Ministry said it had recently destroyed six unmanned surface vehicles (USV) in the Black Sea.[24] A former sailor on the Tsezar Kunikov interviewed by BBC said that the entire crew of 89 had managed to evacuate the sinking ship.[4] According to a Ukrainian source which published a video purporting to show the engagement viewed from on board the ship, the strike on the ship and its subsequent evacuation has been confirmed by Russian sources.[25]
^Павлютина И. (9 February 2006). "Штыки на гербе" [Bayonets on the coat of arms]. Krasnaya Zvezda (in Russian). Archived from the original on 18 September 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
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