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Russian ship Tsezar Kunikov

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Tsezar Kunikov (BDK-64) (Russian: «Цезарь Куников» (БДК-64); NATO reporting name: Ropucha-I class), sometimes anglicised as Caesar Kunikov, was a Project 775, large landing ship of the Russian Navy. The ship was built in Polish People's Republic, launched in 1986 and named after Soviet Naval Infantry officer Tsezar Kunikov. As part of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, it took part in the KFOR mission, the Russo-Georgian War, the Syrian Civil War, and the Russo-Ukrainian War.

Tsezar Kunikov in the Red Sea, 2003
History
Russia
NameTsezar Kunikov
NamesakeTsezar Kunikov
BuilderStocznia Północna, Gdańsk, Poland[1]
Commissioned30 October 1986[1]
HomeportSevastopol
FateSunk on 14 February 2024
General characteristics [1]
Class and typeRopucha-class landing ship
Displacement
  • 2,768 long tons (2,812 t) standard
  • 4,012 long tons (4,076 t) full load
Length112.5 m (369 ft 1 in)
Beam15.01 m (49 ft 3 in)
Draught4.26 m (14 ft 0 in)
RampsOver bows and at stern
Installed power3 × 750 kW (1,006 hp) diesel generators
Propulsion2 × 9,600 hp (7,159 kW) Zgoda-Sulzer 16ZVB40/48 diesel engines
Speed17.59 knots (32.58 km/h; 20.24 mph)
Range
  • 6,000 nmi (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
  • 3,500 nmi (6,500 km; 4,000 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Endurance30 days
Capacity10 × main battle tanks and 340 troops or 12 × BTR APC and 340 troops or 3 × main battle tanks, 3 × 2S9 Nona-S SPG, 5 × MT-LB APC, 4 trucks and 313 troops or 500 tons of cargo
Complement98
Armament
Service record
Part of:

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

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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

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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]

Russo-Ukrainian War

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2022

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On 24 March 2022 the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported that Tsezar Kunikov and her sister ship Novocherkassk had been damaged during an attack that destroyed the Tapir-class landing ship Saratov in the port of Berdiansk during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[11] Video of the incident showed the Tsezar Kunikov and Novocherkassk retreating from the port soon after the attack; one of the ships' forecastles was on fire,[12] although it is unclear which.[13]

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]

2024

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Main Directorate of Intelligence footage of the attack on Tsezar Kunikov by Group 13.

On 14 February 2024, Ukrainian Armed Forces released a statement through Telegram that they had attacked the Tsezar Kunikov using MAGURA V5 unmanned 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]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Large landing ships - Project 775". russian-ships.info. 2012. Archived from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  2. ^ "Russian Military Unit 197th LS Bde". warfare.ru. 2012. Archived from the original on 1 December 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Balmforth, Tom; Polityuk, Pavel (14 February 2024). "Ukraine says it sank Russian large landing warship in Black Sea". Reuters. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d Kirby, Paul (14 February 2024). "Russian landing ship Caesar Kunikov sunk off Crimea, says Ukraine". BBC News. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d "Ukrainian military says it sank a Russian landing ship in the Black Sea". AP News. 14 February 2024. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ "Челябинские ветераны побывали на подшефном корабле "Цезарь Куников"" [Chelyabinsk veterans visited the patronized ship "Tsezar Kunikov"]. Civic Chamber of the Chelyabinsk Oblast (in Russian). 9 August 2016. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Воздушный десант отправится в Косово морем" [Airborne troops will go to Kosovo by sea]. www.kommersant.ru (in Russian). 3 July 1999. Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  9. ^ Wilson, Bo (18 June 2012). "Russian navy 'Sending two ships to protect its citizens in Syria'". Evening Standard. pp. A23. Archived from the original on 21 February 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  10. ^ "Россия направила в Средиземное море корабль с оружием для Сирии" [Russia sent a ship with weapons to Syria to the Mediterranean]. news.rambler.ru. 5 October 2015. Archived from the original on 23 December 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  11. ^ "Ukraine war latest news". The Guardian. 25 March 2022. pp. block-623d5c878f08118734a72191. Archived from the original on 25 March 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  12. ^ Coleman, Julie (24 March 2022). "Video shows 2 Russian warships escaping as Ukrainian missiles blast a docked ship". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 13 April 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  13. ^ "Russian warships paint off names and hull numbers..." from Russian warships paint off hull numbers to prepare for provocations at sea Archived 21 March 2022 at the Wayback Machine // Крым.Реалии, March 21, 2022
  14. ^ "Командир корабля "Цезарь Куников" Чирва погиб на спецоперации на Украине" [The commander of the ship "Tsezar Kunikov" Chirva died in a special operation in Ukraine]. RIA Novosti. 18 April 2022. Archived from the original on 18 April 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  15. ^ "Russian captain of Black Sea landing ship killed in Ukraine in latest blow for Putin". The Independent. 20 April 2022. Archived from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  16. ^ "Польша поставила России контрафактные детали для десантных кораблей" [Poland supplied Russia with counterfeit parts for landing ships]. mash.ru (in Russian). 24 August 2022. Archived from the original on 28 August 2022.
  17. ^ a b c d e Victoria Butenko; Christian Edwards; Alex Stambaugh (14 February 2024). "Ukraine says it has sunk another warship, disabling a third of Russia's Black Sea Fleet". CNN. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  18. ^ "Цезар Куніков. ЗСУ кажуть, що потопили російський десантний корабель. Що про нього відомо і як реагують у Росії" [Tsezar Kunikov. The Armed Forces say they sank a Russian amphibious ship. What is known about it and how they react in Russia]. BBC (in Ukrainian). 14 February 2024. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  19. ^ a b Winsor, Morgan (14 February 2024). "Ukraine says it sank another Russian warship in Black Sea". ABC News. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  20. ^ "BBC Verify looks at moment Russian ship hit by Ukrainian drones". BBC. 14 February 2024. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  21. ^ "Ukraine says it sank a large Russian landing ship in the Black Sea". NBC. Associated Press. 14 February 2024. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  22. ^ Roman Romaniuk; Yevhen Kizilov (4 March 2024). "Four ships in a row: Defence Intelligence explains why Ukrainian drones started sinking Russian vessels – video". Ukrainska Pravda.
  23. ^ Toussaint, Benoit; Flanagan, Erin (15 February 2024). "Ukraine lands blows in Black Sea as frontline stagnates". NBC Right Now. Agence France-Presse. Archived from the original on 16 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  24. ^ Kakissis, Joanna (14 February 2024). "Ukraine's military says it sank a Russian landing ship in the Black Sea". www.npr.org. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  25. ^ "Video from the landing ship Caesar Kunikov during the Ukrainian drone attack was released". Ukrainian Military Center. 6 March 2024. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
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