The Berdiansk port attack was a strike carried out by Ukrainian forces against

Russian Navy The Russian Navy is the Navy, naval arm of the Russian Armed Forces. It has existed in various forms since 1696. Its present iteration was formed in January 1992 when it succeeded the Navy of the Commonwealth of Independent States (which had i ...

ships moored in the

Port of Berdiansk The Port of Berdiansk is a seaport in the city of Berdiansk, Ukraine, on the Sea of Azov. It is the only port in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast and one of Ukraine's two Azov ports (along with Mariupol). According to the Law "On Seaports of Ukraine," th ...

on 24 March 2022, during the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. The ''Saratov'' was sunk, and one of the two s took damage but was able to leave the port. At the time, it was the heaviest naval loss suffered by Russia during the invasion, and one of Ukraine's most significant successes.

Background

On 26 February 2022, Russian troops captured the Port of Berdiansk and the

Berdiansk Airport Berdiansk Airport (, ) is an airport in Berdiansk, Ukraine. The airport is located north of the city. History The airport is a former Soviet airbase and was home to the: * 292nd Independent Helicopter Squadron for Electronic Warfare between 1 ...

. By the following day, the Russian military had taken full control of the city. Beginning on 14 March, the port was used as a logistics hub by the Russians to support their offensive in southern Ukraine and in particular the

siege of Mariupol The siege of Mariupol began on 24 February 2022 and lasted until 20 May, as part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It saw fighting between the Russian Armed Forces (alongside the Donetsk People's Republic People's Militia) and the Ukrainian ...

. On 21 March, Russian media Zvezda reported on the arrival of amphibious transports in

Berdiansk Berdiansk or Berdyansk (, ; , ) is a port city in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, south-eastern Ukraine. It is on the northern coast of the Sea of Azov, which is connected to the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Berdiansk Raion. The c ...

. A Russian navy officer described it as "a landmark event that will open logistical possibilities to the Black Sea Navy".

Attack

The attack occurred at 7:45 on 24 March. Fire onboard the ''Saratov'' caused a large explosion, as the vessel was apparently laden with ammunition. Russia reported that the ship had sunk following a fire and explosions, but did not mention the Ukrainian attack. The explosion caused damage to two nearby s, the , and the . Both of these ships escaped the port while fighting their own fires, and later returned to

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

. Other damage included large oil tanks on the pier and a nearby merchant ship that had been moored there since before the invasion, both of which were still burning the next day. Ukrainian officials claimed that the attack was carried out with a

OTR-21 Tochka OTR-21 ''Tochka'' () is a Soviet Union, Soviet tactical ballistic missile. Its GRAU designation is 9K79. Its NATO reporting name is the SS-21 Scarab. One missile is transported per 9P129 vehicle and raised prior to launch. It uses an inertial gu ...

tactical ballistic missile A tactical ballistic missile (TBM), or battlefield range ballistic missile (BRBM), is a ballistic missile designed for short-range battlefield use. Typically, range (aeronautics), range is less than . Tactical ballistic missiles are usually mo ...

Aftermath

Satellite imagery later confirmed the ''Saratov'' had sunk in the harbour, with its superstructure visible above the surface. Unconfirmed reports suggested that eight crewmen were killed on the ''Tsezar Kunikov'' and three on the ''Novocherkassk'', but losses on the ''Saratov'' were not reported. British intelligence assessed that the sinking of the ''Saratov'' would damage the Russian Navy's confidence to operate close to the Ukrainian coastline. As of 31 March, no further attempts to resupply with amphibious ships had been observed, according to the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...

. At the time, the attack that sank ''Saratov'' was not mentioned by Russia. On 2 July Russia announced that the ship had been damaged by a missile strike and scuttled by its crew "to prevent detonation of the on-board munitions", and that it had been salvaged and would be towed to

Kerch Kerch, also known as Keriç or Kerich, is a city of regional significance on the Kerch Peninsula in the east of Crimea. It has a population of Founded 2,600 years ago as the Colonies in antiquity#Greek colonies, ancient Greek colony Pantik ...

in Crimea. Both ''Novocherkassk'' and ''Tsezar Kunikov'' were later repaired and returned to service. On 26 December 2023 ''Novocherkassk'' was sunk and ''Tsezar Kunikov'' was destroyed on 14 February 2024.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berdiansk March 2022 in Ukraine Ukrainian airstrikes during the Russian invasion of Ukraine Berdiansk Zaporizhzhia Oblast in the Russian invasion of Ukraine Southern front of the Russian invasion of Ukraine 2022 airstrikes Naval warfare in the Russian invasion of Ukraine Naval operations and battles 21st-century naval battles Military operations of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022

Background

Attack

Aftermath

See also

References