''Vasily Bykov'' () is a project 22160

patrol ship A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval ship, naval vessel generally designed for Coastal defence and fortification, coastal defence, Border control, border security, or law ...

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 ...

, of which it was the first ship built. It was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

on 26 February 2014 on the Zelenodolsk Shipyard at Zelenodolsk in

Tatarstan Tatarstan, officially the Republic of Tatarstan, sometimes also called Tataria, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. It is a part of the Volga Federal District; and its capital city, capital and largest city i ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, and launched on 28 August 2017. ''Vasily Bykov'' was commissioned on 20 December 2018 in the at

Novorossiysk Novorossiysk (, ; ) is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is one of the largest ports on the Black Sea. It is one of the few cities designated by the Soviet Union as a Hero City. The population was History In antiquity, the shores of the ...

, becoming part 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 ...

Operational history

''Vasily Bykov,'' along with the , took part in the

attack on Snake Island The Snake Island campaign was a period of Russian occupation and military conflict for Snake Island, a small, strategically located Ukrainian island in the Black Sea. On 24 February 2022, the first day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the R ...

on 24 February 2022 during the first day of the

2022 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 island was bombarded with the ships' guns before

Russian Naval Infantry The Russian Naval Infantry (), often referred to as Russian Marines in the West, operate as the naval infantry of the Russian Navy. Established in 1705, they are capable of conducting amphibious operations as well as operating as more traditiona ...

landed. The confrontation ended with the Russian takeover of Snake Island. On 7 March 2022, the Ukrainian authorities claimed that the Armed Forces of Ukraine had attacked ''Vasily Bykov'' using a shore based

multiple rocket launcher A multiple rocket launcher (MRL) or multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) is a type of rocket artillery system that contains multiple rocket launcher, launchers which are fixed to a single weapons platform, platform, and shoots its rocket (weapon ...

system off the coast of

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 ...

, stating that the ship had been heavily damaged or even sunk. However, on 16 March 2022, ''Vasily Bykov'' was seen returning to the

Sevastopol Naval Base 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, the base is recognised as ...

of the Russian Black Sea Fleet 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 ...

, with no damage visible. According to ''The Drive'', the

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

n-flagged tanker , which was still burning after having been shelled by a Russian warship on 25 February 2022 and located from the Ukrainian port of Yuzhne, could have been mistakenly interpreted by Ukrainian officials as the ''Vasily Bykov''. On 14 April 2022, the ship the ''Vasily Bykov'' had attacked Snake Island with, the ''Moskva'', was sunk, and on 30 June, the Russian army retreated from Snake Island. In June 2022, ''Vasily Bykov'' was for the first time equipped with a self-contained fighting module of the Tor-M2KM air-defence system, installed on its helicopter deck. On 1 August 2023, the Ministry of Defence of Russia claimed that a Ukrainian attack with three naval drones on ''Vasily Bykov'' and another Russian project 22160 patrol ship, , had been repelled. It also accused Ukraine of having attempted to attack Russian civilian vessels in the southwestern part of the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

with naval drones. Ukrainian officials rejected both the claims of attacks on Russian civilian and military ships. On 13 August, Russia announced that ''Vasily Bykov'' had opened warning fire from automatic weapons to stop the

Palau Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands ...

an-flagged cargo ship ''Sukru Okan'', which was navigating through the Black Sea, after it failed to respond to a Russian request to inspect it. On 14 September, the Russian Ministry of Defence claimed that ''Vasily Bykov'' engaged and destroyed three Ukrainian naval drones. ''Vasily Bykov'' and another warship were purportedly escorting two merchant vessels, ''Yaz'' and ''Ursa Major'', the latter an alleged arms-runner, heading towards

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. On the other hand, Ukrainian forces claimed that day they had damaged ''Vasily Bykov''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vasily Bykov 2017 ships Patrol vessels of the Russian Navy Ships built in Russia Ships involved in the Russian invasion of Ukraine Maritime incidents in 2022 Maritime incidents in 2023 Southern front of the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Operational history

See also

References