''Vasily Bykov'' (russian: Василий Быков, Vasiliy 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 vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and the ...

of the Russian Navy, 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 o ...

on 26 February 2014 on the Zelenodolsk Shipyard at Zelenodolsk in

Tatarstan The Republic of Tatarstan (russian: Республика Татарстан, Respublika Tatarstan, p=rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə tətɐrˈstan; tt-Cyrl, Татарстан Республикасы), or simply Tatarstan (russian: Татарстан, tt ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

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

Novorossiysk Novorossiysk ( rus, Новоросси́йск, p=nəvərɐˈsʲijsk; ady, ЦIэмэз, translit=Chəməz, p=t͡sʼɜmɜz) 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 hono ...

, becoming part of the

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, ...

Operational history

''Vasily Bykov,'' along with the , took part in the attack on Snake Island on 24 February 2022 during the first day of 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 ...

. The island was bombarded with the ships' guns before

Russian Naval Infantry The Russian Naval Infantry (MPR; ), 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 tradit ...

landed. The confrontation ended with the

n 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 launchers which are fixed to a single platform, and shoots its rocket ordnance in a fashion similar to a volle ...

system off the coast of

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

, 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 (russian: Севастопольская военно-морская база; uk, Севастопольська військово-морська база) is a naval base located in Sevastopol, in the Political stat ...

of the Russian Black Sea Fleet 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 ...

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

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

n-flagged tanker , which was still burning after having been shelled by a Russian warship on 25 February 2022 and located from Ukrainian port

Yuzhne Yuzhne ( uk, Ю́жне, ; formerly: Южний, ''Yuzhnyi'',Internet portal of Yuzhny
translated as "southern"

, could have been mistakenly interpreted by Ukrainian officials as the ''Vasily Bykov''. Later, on the last day of June, Russian forces retreated from Snake Island. Earlier, on 14 April 2022, the ship the ''Vasily Bykov'' had attacked Snake Island with, the ''Moskva'', had been sunk. 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.

References

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

Operational history

See also

References