''Saratov'' () was a of the

Black Sea Fleet The Black Sea Fleet () is the Naval fleet, 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 Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, are subordin ...

of the

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 ...

. She was destroyed on 24 March 2022, while in the port of

Berdyansk 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 ...

, after being struck by a Ukrainian missile. Named ''Saratov'', the ship was built in

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad,. known as Königsberg; ; . until 1946, is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland ( west of the bulk of Russia), located on the Prego ...

and launched in 1964. She was named ''BDK-10'' () for , and then renamed ''Voronezhsky Komsomolets'' in 1967. With the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

in 1991, she was renamed ''BDK-65'' in 1992, and then ''Saratov'' in 2003. She is one of the first subtype of the Tapir-class landing ships, designated Project 1171 by the Russian Navy.

Construction and commissioning

''Saratov'' was built by

Yantar Shipyard Yantar Shipyard () is a Russian shipbuilding company based in Kaliningrad, Russia. Yantar Shipyard builds military ships, including antisubmarine and patrol craft, as well as civil vessels such as fishing trawlers and seiners. It is a part of th ...

, being laid down on 5 February 1964 and launched on 1 July 1964 as ''BDK-10''. She was commissioned into the

Soviet Navy The Soviet Navy was the naval warfare Military, uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with t ...

on 18 August 1966 as part of its

. She was

homeport A vessel's home port is the port at which it is based, which may not be the same as its port of registry shown on its registration documents and lettered on the stern of the ship's hull. In the cruise industry the term "home port" is also oft ...

ed in

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

, and with the

in late December 1991, she went on to serve in the Russian Navy.

Career

Entering service as ''BDK-10'', she was renamed ''Voronezhsky Komsomolets'' in honour of the

Komsomol The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League, usually known as Komsomol, was a political youth organization in the Soviet Union. It is sometimes described as the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), although it w ...

association in

Voronezh Voronezh ( ; , ) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the Southeastern Railway, which connects wes ...

on 22 February 1967. She went on to make more than 20 long-distance cruises carrying troops between 1966 and 2004. In 1991 she was laid up inactive in

Odesa Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...

, and with the

later that year, her Soviet-era name was changed to ''BDK-65''. She was reactivated in 1994, and in August 2000 made four voyages from

Gonio Gonio may refer to: * Gonio (settlement), a small resort on the Black Sea coast of Georgia ** Gonio Fortress, Roman fortification near the resort of Gonio, Georgia ** FC Gonio, a football club based in Gonio {{disambiguation ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, to Utrishenok, Russia, carrying equipment of the

Russian Transcaucasus Group of Forces The Transcaucasian Military District, a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, traces its history to May 1921 and the incorporation of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia into the Soviet Union. It was disbanded by being redesignated as a Grou ...

. Renamed ''Saratov'' on 26 July 2003, she was active during the

Russo-Georgian War The August 2008 Russo-Georgian War, also known as the Russian invasion of Georgia,Occasionally, the war is also referred to by other names, such as the Five-Day War and August War. was a war waged against Georgia by the Russian Federation and the ...

in August 2008, being involved with other Russian ships in a

battle off the coast of Abkhazia The Battle off the coast of Abkhazia was a supposed naval engagement between warships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet and Georgian patrol boats during the Russo-Georgian War. The engagement On 10 August 2008, RIA Novosti – quoting a source i ...

with Georgian gunboats on 10 August. In autumn and winter 2012, ''Saratov'' made voyages to the Mediterranean Sea, and in January 2013, suffered the breakdown of her diesel generator while sailing to join exercises in the Mediterranean. She was repaired at the naval facility in Tartus. She made a further four visits to the Meditarranean in 2014, being part of the

Syrian Express The Syrian Express is the name used to describe the regular supply voyages through the Bosporus to Ba'athist Syria, in particular using amphibious warfare ships of the Russian Navy, that were made during the Syrian civil war (2011–2024). Follo ...

during the

Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war {{Infobox military conflict , partof = the foreign involvement in the Syrian civil war, foreign involvement in the Syrian civil war, and the war against the Islamic State , image = , image_size = , border ...

, and in 2015, was present at the Sevastopol

Navy Day Several nations observe or have observed a Navy Day to recognize their navy. By country Argentina The Argentine Navy day is celebrated on May 17, anniversary of the victory achieved in 1814 against the Spanish fleet in the action of 14 ...

naval parade A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations ...

. In November 2012, ''Saratov'' took part in an operation with other Black Sea Fleet ships in anchoring off the coast of

Gaza Gaza may refer to: Places Palestine * Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea ** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip ** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Mandatory Palestine * Gaza Sub ...

. The ship movement was ostensibly to prepare to evacuate Russian citizens from Israel in case the

Israeli–Palestinian conflict The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is an ongoing military and political conflict about Territory, land and self-determination within the territory of the former Mandatory Palestine. Key aspects of the conflict include the Israeli occupation ...

there escalated. Other ships in the operation included ''

Novocherkassk Novocherkassk () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located near the confluence of the Tuzlov and Aksay Rivers, the latter a distributary of the Don (river), Don River. Novocherkassk is best known as the ...

'' and .

Loss

''Saratov'' was one of the Black Sea Fleet's landing forces used to support 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 ...

from February 2022. 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 ...

was captured, and 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 ...

. At 7:45 on 24 March the port was struck by what Ukrainian officials claimed was 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 ...

. ''Saratov'' caught fire and suffered a large explosion, suggested to be as a result of ammunition in her cargo. Two nearby s, the , and the , were also damaged in the attack and explosion, but were able to leave port. Satellite imagery later confirmed the ''Saratov'' had sunk in the harbour, with her superstructure visible above the surface. On 2 July Russia announced that the ship had been damaged by a missile strike and scuttled by her crew "to prevent detonation of the on-board munitions", and that she 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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saratov 1964 ships Ships built at Yantar Shipyard Amphibious warfare vessels of the Russian Navy Shipwrecks of the Russian invasion of Ukraine Maritime incidents in 2022 Southern front of the Russian invasion of Ukraine March 2022 in Russia 2022 disasters in Russia Alligator-class landing ships