The Storm Shadow is a Franco-British low-observable, long-range air-launched cruise missile developed since 1994 by Matra and British Aerospace, and now manufactured by MBDA. "Storm Shadow" is the weapon's British name; in France it is called SCALP-EG. The missile is based on the French-developed Apache anti-runway cruise missile, but differs in that it carries a unitary warhead instead of cluster munitions.
The Sukhoi Su-24 is a supersonic, all-weather tactical bomber developed in the Soviet Union. The aircraft has a variable-sweep wing, twin engines and a side-by-side seating arrangement for its crew of two. It was the first of the USSR's aircraft to carry an integrated digital navigation/attack system.
The Black Sea Fleet is the fleet of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Mediterranean Sea. The Black Sea Fleet, along with other Russian ground and air forces on the Crimean Peninsula, are subordinate to the Southern Military District of the Russian Armed Forces.
The Novator Kalibr, also referred to as 3M54-1 Kalibr, 3M14 Biryuza, is a family of Russian cruise missiles developed by NPO Novator (OKB-8). It first saw service in 1994. There are ship-launched, submarine-launched and air-launched versions of the missile, and variants for anti-ship, anti-submarine and land attack use. Some versions have a second propulsion stage that initiates a supersonic sprint in the terminal approach to the target, reducing the time that air defense systems have to react, while subsonic versions have greater range than the supersonic variants. The missile can carry a warhead weighing up to 500 kilograms (1,100 lb) of explosive or a thermonuclear warhead.
The Project 775, NATO reporting name Ropucha class, is a class of landing ship built in Poland for the Soviet Navy. The ships were built in the Stocznia Północna shipyards in Gdańsk, Poland. They were designed for beach landings, and can carry 450 tons of cargo. The ships have both bow and stern doors for loading and unloading vehicles, and the 630 square metres (6,800 sq ft) of vehicle deck stretch the length of the hull. Up to 25 armored personnel carriers can be embarked.
Moskva, formerly Slava, was a guided missile cruiser of the Russian Navy. Commissioned in 1983, she was the lead ship of the Project 1164 Atlant class, named after the city of Moscow. With a crew of 510, Moskva was the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet and the most powerful warship in the region.
Tsezar Kunikov (BDK-64), sometimes anglicised as Caesar Kunikov was a Project 775 large landing ship of the Russian Navy. The ship was built in Poland, 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.
The Soviet designation Project 1171 (Tapir-class) landing ship is a class of Soviet/Russian general purpose, beachable amphibious warfare ships.
Project 22160 is a series of large patrol ships being constructed for the Russian Navy. The vessels are primarily intended for duties such as patrol, monitoring and protection in open and closed seas. The first ship was laid down in February 2014 and joined the Russian Navy in December 2018. By January 2018, six ships were under construction. Between 2017 and 2022, four ships had been launched.
Admiral Essen is a frigate of the Admiral Grigorovich class of the Russian Navy named in honour of Admiral Nikolai Ottovich von Essen. The ship construction begun at the Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad in July 2011, and it was launched in November 2014. It is based with the Black Sea Fleet at Sevastopol.
The Sevastopol Naval Base is an occupied naval base located in Sevastopol, in the disputed Crimean Peninsula. The base is used by the Russian Navy, and it is the main base of the Black Sea Fleet. Internationally it's recognised as Ukrainian land under Russian occupation.
Rostov-na-Donu (B-237) is an improved Kilo–class attack submarine of the Russian Navy. On 13 September 2023 the vessel was struck during a Ukrainian missile attack on the Sevastopol Shipyard where she was under repair. Based on open-source imagery, the UK Ministry of Defence assessed that the vessel "likely suffered catastrophic damage."
Vasily Bykov is a project 22160 patrol ship of the Russian Navy, of which it was the first ship built. It was laid down on 26 February 2014 on the Zelenodolsk Shipyard at Zelenodolsk in Tatarstan, Russia, and launched on 28 August 2017. Vasily Bykov was commissioned on 20 December 2018 in the Novorossiysk Naval Base at Novorossiysk, becoming part of the Black Sea Fleet.
The Berdiansk port attack was a strike carried out by Ukrainian forces against Russian Navy ships moored in the Port of Berdiansk on 24 March 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Alligator-class landing ship Saratov was sunk, and one of the two Ropucha-class landing ships took damage but was able to leave the port.
During the southern Ukraine offensive of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the city of Odesa and the surrounding region have been the target of shelling and air strikes by Russian forces on multiple occasions since the conflict began, fired predominantly from Russian warships situated offshore in the Black Sea. The city has also been targeted by Russian cruise missiles.
Beginning in July 2022, a series of explosions and fires occurred on the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula from where the Russian Army had launched its offensive on Southern Ukraine during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Occupied since 2014, Crimea was a base for the subsequent Russian occupation of Kherson Oblast and Russian occupation of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The Ukrainian government has not accepted responsibility for all of the attacks.
Aerial warfare in the Russian invasion of Ukraine began at dawn of 24 February 2022, with infantry divisions and armored and air support in Eastern Ukraine, and dozens of missile attacks across Ukraine. The first fighting took place in Luhansk Oblast near the village of Milove on the border with Russia at 3:40 am Kyiv time. The main infantry and tank attacks were launched in four spearhead incursions, creating a northern front launched towards Kyiv, a southern front originating in Crimea, a south-eastern front launched at the cities of Luhansk and Donbas, and an eastern front. Dozens of missile strikes across Ukraine also reached as far west as Lviv. Drones have also been a critical part of the invasion, particularly in regards to combined arms warfare. Drones have additionally been employed by Russia in striking Ukrainian critical infrastructure, and have been used by Ukraine to strike military infrastructure in Russian territory.
Minsk is a Ropucha-class landing ship of the Russian Navy. The ship was built in the Gdańsk Shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland for the Soviet Navy, and was commissioned in 1983. Minsk is a part of the Russian Baltic Fleet. On 13 September 2023, the ship was damaged in a Ukrainian missile attack on Sevastopol Shipyard.
Naval warfare in the Russian invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February 2022, when the Russian Armed Forces launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. Media reporting of and focus on the invasion has largely been on the terrestrial and aerial aspects – however, maritime engagements have been consequential during the conflict. Disputes over Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea have also played a significant role.
Russia
