'' during exercises in Donuzlav in 2009 According to Ukrainian minister of defense
Ihor Tenyukh, at the moment of the blockade, only four ships remained in quasi-combatant capacity, including the large landing ship
Konstantin Olshansky, which was based in Donuzov. Over the question why Ukrainian ships were not withdrawn from Crimea at the end of February 2014, Tenyukh accused the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,
Yuriy Ilyin, who, according to him did not issue an order. However, Ilyin himself accused Tenyukh of the absence of such an order. On March 2, 2014, four
KamAZ trucks full of armed people arrived in Novoazerne. On March 3 information appeared on the blocking of the Southern Naval Base of Ukraine by military servicemen of the Russian Federation. The 200-meter-long exit from the Donuzlav bay was blocked by the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet of Russia,
missile cruiser Moskva, supported by four other ships. On land, the Ukrainian base was surrounded by about 100 Russian servicemen. At the same time, Ukrainian Navy's ships were ordered to take off from the pier and gather in Donuzlav bay. Denied and in execution of the order of Denis Berezovsky - the ships retired to the berth and handed over the weapons to the warehouses. On the morning of March 4 Crimean Prime Minister
Sergei Aksyonov said that the personnel of the Ukrainian military units were ready to submit to the new government of Crimea and that commanders who refused to do his bidding would be prosecuted. in Donuzlav in 2008 On March 4, armed people without identification marks began to dig trenches near the berth. On March 5, Donuzlav blocked the exit of ships SFP-183,
Moskow,
Shtel and
Lightning. The sinking of
Ochakov took about 80 minutes. In connection with the blockade of Ukrainian ships in Donuzlav, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine strongly protested to the Russian Federation. On March 7, fire-fighting boat BM-416 was also sunk as an obstacle; it had a displacement of 30-40 tons. On March 13, in response to the intentional sinking of a fourth ship at the mouth of the bay, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine handed a verbal note to Russia over the scuttled ships and the threat to environmental safety in the Black Sea. Director of the Information Policy Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine
Yevhen Perebyinis stated that the responsibility for damage to the marine environment and natural resources rested on the Russian side. during exercises in Donuzlav in 2009 Also, on March 13, farmers from the Rivne region delivered about 25 tons of food to the Ukrainian sailors. Base commander Vladimir Dogonov said that there was a lot of assistance to the naval base, to the point that they shared it with neighboring military units. With the assistance of the Red Cross, residents of
Kropyvnytskyi and
Novomyrhorod were able to pass along the aid. Yuri Fedash, commander of the minesweeper
Cherkasy, said that Crimean Tatars from the neighboring villages of Medvedev and
Kirovske also provided assistance. Following a
referendum on the Crimea status on March 16, the seamen requested a clear plan from the Ukrainian leadership for further action on the evacuation of servicemen and their families from Donuzlav. However, the acting president of Ukraine, Oleksandr Turchynov, said that the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff issued orders to protect the ships. Turchynov also stressed the need to withstand and prevent further Russian invasion of Ukraine. Volodymyr Komoedov, deputy of the State Duma of Russia and former commander of the Black Sea Fleet, said that Ukrainian vessels that were in the Crimea would become Russian after the referendum. On March 19, 2014, the headquarters of the Southern Naval Base of Ukraine went under the control of the Russian Federation. The headquarters gates near the checkpoint were demolished by a bulldozer. Russian military vehicles blocked the road to the barracks. After that, the ships
Vinnitsa,
Konstantin Olshansky,
Kirovograd,
Cherkassy and
Chernigov sailed to the middle of Donuzlav to prevent capture. On March 20, Vitaliy Zvyagintsev, commander of the five brigades of the surface ships of the Naval Forces of Ukraine, who defected to Russia, ordered all ships to berth. On March 21, three machine gun points were deployed on the shore, and the berth was occupied by Russian military personnel. On the same day, the ships
Kirovograd,
Theodosius and
Chernigov approached the berth and surrendered. The next day, the commander contacted the head of the Presidential Administration
Serhiy Pashynskyi. Later, the commander of
Kirovograd, Volodymyr Khromchenkov, the commander of
Theodosius, O. Bily and the commander of
Chernigov, Boris Paliy defected to the Russian side.
Cherkasy was hit by mooring cables from one of the scuttled ships and tried to break free. The operation lasted about two hours, but the minesweeper was not able to do it because of a lack of power. Converserly, three sailors from the minesweeper
Chernigov climbed onboard. On March 22, the corvette
Vinnitsa, raised the
St. Andrew flag, and the commander Sergei Zagolnikov eventually defected to Russia. On March 23, the minesweeper
Henichesk attempted to exit Donuzlav, however, it was intercepted by a tug of the Black Sea Fleet of Russia. On the night of March 24, another small vessel was scuttled by the Russian Navy at the bay. Later, the
Konstantin Olshansky laid smokescreens, but was still captured by the Russian boat U8301 using automatic weapons and small grenades. The minesweeper
Henichesk was captured on the same date. Captain Dmitry Kovalenko, commander of the
Konstantin Olshansky said that the issue of scuttling his ship never was on the table. At the time of capture of the ship was crewed by only 20 seamen from a usual complement of 120. The U8301 launched about 400 grenades around
Konstantin Olshansky before the amphibious ship was assaulted by a boarding party.
Cherkasy made an attempt to leave Donuzlav, passing between the wrecks of two ships. As a result, the trawler was intercepted by a tug, from which there were attempts to board the minesweeper. On March 25, an unknown boat traveled around the minesweeper
Cherkasy, the last Ukrainian ship in Crimea.
Cherkasy was eventually captured by the ocean-going tug
Kovel, three speedboats, and two
Mi-35 helicopters. The ship maneuvered for at least two hours, but was eventually stormed using firearms and light-and-noise grenades. According to Fedash,
Spetsnaz forces from the 16th Brigade participated in the capture of
Cherkasy. During the assault there were no casualties, but control mechanisms of the ship were damaged by the Russian forces. As a result, the tug
Kovel towed
Cherkasy to a harbor berth. The next day the crew went to the coast and traveled to the mainland Ukraine, the last to left the ship was commander Yuri Fedash, after which the Ukrainian flag was removed from the minesweeper. == Return of captured ships ==