''Caesar Kunikov'' (BDK-64) (russian: «Цезарь Куников» (БДК-64), Tsezar' Kunikov) is a Project 775 (

NATO reporting name NATO reporting names are code names for military equipment from Russia, China, and historically, the Eastern Bloc (Soviet Union and other nations of the Warsaw Pact). They provide unambiguous and easily understood English words in a uniform manne ...

: Ropucha-I-class) large landing ship (''Bol'shoy Desatnyy Korabl'') of the Russian Navy. She is named after Caesar Lvovich Kunikov, the commanding officer of a landing party that captured the beach-head of

Malaya Zemlya Malaya Zemlya (russian: Малая Земля, lit. "Small Land") was a Soviet uphill outpost on Cape Myskhako (russian: Мысхако) that was recaptured after battles with the Germans during the Battle of the Caucasus, on the night of 4 Febru ...

, a

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

. The ship was built at the Stocznia Północna shipyard in

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

, Poland, and launched on 30 October 1986. She is currently in service with

Black Sea Fleet Chernomorskiy flot , image = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet , dates = May 13, ...

's 197th Landing Ship Brigade, of the 30th Division of Surface Ships, and homeported in

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

. She is under the patronage of the city of

Zelenograd Zelenograd ( rus, Зеленогра́д, p=zʲɪlʲɪnɐˈgrat, lit. ''green city'') is a city and administrative okrug of Moscow, Russia. The city of Zelenograd and the territory under its jurisdiction form the Zelenogradsky Administrative O ...

(since 1998) and

Chelyabinsk Oblast Chelyabinsk Oblast (russian: Челя́бинская о́бласть, ''Chelyabinskaya oblast'') is a federal subject (an oblast) of Russia in the Ural Mountains region, on the border of Europe and Asia. Its administrative center is the city ...

(since 2011).

Service history

Syrian civil war

In October 2015, ''Caesar Kunikov'' was sent to Syria with a cargo of weapons and ammunition for the Syrian Arab Army.

Russo-Ukrainian War

On 24 March 2022 the

General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Генеральний штаб Збройних сил України) is the military staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It is the central organ of the Armed Forces Administration and ov ...

reported that ''Caesar Kunikov'' and its sister ship ''Novocherkassk'' had been damaged during an attack that destroyed the ''Saratov'' in the port of Berdiansk during the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

. Video of the incident shows two warships, possibly"Russian warships paint off names and hull numbers..." fro
Russian warships paint off hull numbers to prepare for provocations at sea
// Крым.Реалии, March 21, 2022 the sister ships ''Caesar Kunikov'' and ''Novocherkassk'', retreating from the port soon after the attack; one of the retreating ships'

forecastle The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is the phrase " be ...

s was on fire, although it is unclear which. On 18 April 2022 it was reported that the ship's commander, Captain of the 3rd rank Alexander Chirva, died during the invasion of Ukraine. On 24 August 2022 it was reported ''Caesar Kunikov'' and sister ship ''Novocherkassk'' were out of action due to lack of spare parts to repair the ships. The lack of spare parts was attributed to the sanctions imposed on Russia.

References

External links

* * Photographs of ''Caesar Kunikov''. * 1986 ships Amphibious warfare vessels of the Soviet Navy Amphibious warfare vessels of the Russian Navy Cold War amphibious warfare vessels of the Soviet Union Ships built in Gdańsk Naval ships built in Poland for export Ropucha-class landing ships Ships involved in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine {{USSR-mil-ship-stub