On May 20, 2024, the Russian missile corvette Tsyklon was destroyed by a Ukrainian missile attack, according to Ukrainska Pravda. Some satellite images showing the sunken Tsiklon have already been shared on social media.
This is a significant loss of the Russian Black Sea fleet, because it was the last Russian missile carrier based in Crimea. The Karakurt-class Tsyklon corvette had entered service with the Black Sea Fleet less than a year ago, in July 2023. She had been launched just three years earlier at the Zalyv shipyard in Kerch, Crimea.
According to the Russian website KCHF.ru, which follows the operations of the Black Sea Fleet, the corvette was capable of launching cruise missiles at sea and land targets up to 1,500 miles away. Ukrainian navy spokesman Dymtro Pletenchuk said in an interview with Radio Free Europe that there is "a fairly high probability that now there is not a single cruise missile carrier in Crimea."
Ukraine has inflicted enormous damage on the Russian Black Sea Fleet, destroying many Russian ships since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022. The Ukrainians have neutralized half of the Russian fleet's war power, considering the quality of the weapons of the destroyed ships , including a submarine. Ukrainian forces achieved this strategic victory without warships of their own, using new unmanned maritime drones and long-range anti-ship missiles to target enemy warships.
