Ropucha-class landing ship

Operational history

Most of the ships became part of the Russian Navy after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. They were used for landing troops at the Georgian port of Poti during the Russo-Georgian War and for deliveries of cargo during the Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war.

One ship of the class was delivered to South Yemen in 1979 and served the Yemeni Navy until 2002, before it was sold as a civilian cargo ship named Sam of Yemen. It was the only one of the class in service outside the former Soviet Union.

On 3 August 2012, international media reported that three vessels of the class, Aleksandr Otrakovsky, Georgy Pobedonosets and Kondopoga, would visit the Russian naval base in Tartus, Syria. The ships were part of the Northern Fleet. Earlier reports, quoting an anonymous source at the Russian general staff, said the ships would spend a few days in Tartus and take on fresh supplies of food and water. British media added that the ships each had up to 120 marines on board. The Russian defence ministry left open the possibility that the ships might dock there at some point for logistical reasons, saying they had every right to do so. The General Staff source had said that after calling at Tartus they would head for the Bosporus and the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk.

All four ships of the Russia's Black Sea Fleet, namely , , Yamal and Azov, were modernized with installation of the Tsentavr-NM2S, Auriga and Cobham SAILOR satellite phones.

Russo-Ukrainian War

upright|thumb|A [[PT-76]] amphibious tank leaving a Project 775 ship at the bow gate

The Ukrainian Navy's only ship of the class, Kostiantyn Olshansky, was seized by Russian troops and pressed into service with the Russian navy after their invasion and subsequent occupation of Crimea in March 2014.

In January 2022, prior to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the landing ships Korolyov, , Kaliningrad, Pyotr Morgunov (Project 11711), Georgy Pobedonosets, and Olenegorsky Gornyak from the Baltic and Northern fleets departed their bases and passed through the Dardanelles Strait for claimed exercises in the Black Sea.

In late March 2022, and were damaged in a Ukrainian attack in the port of Berdiansk. Tsezar Kunikovs commander, Captain of the 3rd rank Alexander Chirva, was reportedly killed in the strike. The ships were unable to return to active duty for several months due to lack of spare parts.

In early August 2023, Olenegorsky Gornyak was seriously damaged at the Black Sea Novorossiysk naval base after it was struck by a Ukrainian maritime drone carrying 450 kg of TNT. The ship was pictured under tow, listing 40–50 degrees to port as tugboats worked to put it in a safe position.

On 13 September 2023, Russian military reported that the Sevastopol Shipyard had been struck by a Ukrainian missile attack, damaging Minsk and the Rostov-on-Don.

On 26 December 2023, Novocherkassk was struck by Ukrainian cruise missiles and destroyed.{{Cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-warship-crimea-putin-latest-news-b2469790.html |title=Ukraine-Russia war live: New images show Putin’s warship completely destroyed after Kyiv missile strike

On 14 February 2024, Tsezar Kunikov was reported sunk by several Ukrainian naval drones.

On 24 March 2024, the two remaining Ropucha-class landing ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet were struck by cruise missiles while they were in port in Sevastopol. The Ukrainian general staff and open-source intelligence sources reported that both Yamal and Azov were hit. The recent satellite images did not reveal any damage, showing that the missile hit the pier next to the ship presumably due to the electronic warfare system.

On 26 March 2024, Ukraine claimed to have struck the Konstantin Olshansky with a Neptune missile without providing any direct confirmation. This vessel was seized from Ukraine in 2014, when Russian forces took control of the Crimean peninsula.

List of ships

References

Sources

References

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