Ukrainian soldiers discover sunken Russian Project 205P Tarantul-class patrol boat in Crimea.

According to the Institute for the Study of War on January 18, 2024, Ukrainian partisans and satellite imagery confirmed that Ukrainian strikes against occupied Crimea in late December 2023 resulted in the sinking of a Russian Project 205P Tarantul-class patrol boat near Sevastopol. This information sheds light on the effectiveness of Ukraine's recent strike campaign against occupied Crimea, which had previously been the subject of speculation and had limited open-source confirmation.
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A Project 205P Tarantul-class patrol boat of the Russian Navy. (Picture source: Yandex)

The discovery of the sunken Tarantul-class patrol boat was reported by the Crimean-based "Atesh" Ukrainian partisan group on January 18, 2024. According to their findings, the boat was found submerged in Hrafska Bay, Sevastopol. Furthermore, satellite imagery corroborates the Atesh-provided coordinates, confirming that the incident occurred between December 28 and 31, 2023. This finding challenges the claims made by Russian and Crimean occupation officials, who had previously stated that Ukrainian air and naval drone strikes on December 28 and 30, 2023, had been repelled.

The sinking of the Project 205P Tarantul-class patrol boat suggests that Ukraine's recent strike campaign against occupied Crimea may have had more significant impacts than initially reported by open sources. It's worth noting that Ukrainian forces had previously carried out a successful strike campaign against Russian Black Sea Fleet (BSF) assets during the summer of 2023, prompting Russian forces to relocate their ships away from the main base in occupied Sevastopol, Crimea.

However, this relocation has not prevented the Ukrainians from locating and destroying new Russian ships, as demonstrated by the destruction of the Novocherkassk, a Ropucha-class landing ship, during an attack on the port of Feodosia on December 26, 2023.

The Project 205P Tarantul-class patrol boats, also known as Stenka-class patrol boats in NATO classification, are a series of Soviet border patrol ships (PSKR) and artillery boats (AKA) developed in the mid-1960s. These vessels were produced by the Primorsky Shipyard and Vladivostok Shipyard between 1966 and 1989. They entered service in 1967 and continue to be in service in several countries as of the most recent information available in 2023.

These patrol boats, sometimes referred to as corvettes, are characterized by a standard displacement of 211 tons and a full-load displacement of 245 tons. They measure approximately 40 meters in length, with a width of 7.91 meters and a draft of 1.96 meters. Propulsion is provided by three diesel engines, either M-503G or M-504B-2 for PSKR-629, or M-504B-3 for PSKR-651 and 659, generating between 4,000 to 5,000 horsepower. They are capable of achieving a cruising speed of 34 to 36 knots and have a cruising range of 1910 miles at 11.4 knots, 800 miles at 20 knots, and 500 miles at 35 knots. These boats can operate autonomously at sea for 10 to 15 days and require a crew of 31 personnel, including 5 officers, or 19 personnel with 3 officers for Project 02059 boats.

The electronic equipment of the Tarantul-class boats includes 4Ts-30-125 and "Xenon" radar systems, MG-329 "Sheksna" (except for Project 02059) and GAS MG-11 sonars, OGAS MG-7 (for PSKR-629) anti-sabotage system, and an MI-110K station for detecting the thermal wake of submarines (from PSKR-702 onwards, as well as on PSKR-645 and 675). Additionally, their artillery comprises 2 × 2 30mm AU AK-230 with the MR-104 “Lynx” fire control system. These boats also carry 2 bomb releasers BSU-6 for anti-submarine purposes and are equipped with 4 × 400 mm TA for 4 SET-40 torpedoes.

Satellite imagery confirmed that Ukrainian strikes against occupied Crimea in late December 2023 resulted in the sinking of a Russian Project 205P Tarantul-class patrol boat near Sevastopol. (Picture source: Twitter/OSINT (Uri)