The ship was
launched on 17 April 1987. In November of the same year, the ship was included in the
Soviet Navy's
Black Sea Fleet. The ship was stationed at lake
Donuzlav. In 2015,
Novocherkassk was a part of Black Sea Fleet exercises in the
Mediterranean which corresponded with a Russian buildup of military forces in
Syria. In March 2020, the ship set out for Syria, with sister landing ship and frigates and , in response to growing tensions with
Turkey and the withdrawal of American troops from Syria. The ships' movement spurred concerns over the spread of the
COVID-19 virus from and to Russia. in 2015
Russian invasion of Ukraine In March 2022, roughly a month into
Russia's invasion of Ukraine,
Novocherkassk was docked in the port of
Berdiansk in southern Ukraine with a number of other Russian warships. A Ukrainian
missile attack on 25 March damaged several Russian ships there, sinking
Saratov and damaging
Novocherkassk. By June 2022, Russian state media outlet
TASS claimed that
Novocherkassk was one of twelve landing ships in the Black Sea that could launch an amphibious operation in Ukraine. However,
Novocherkassk was not confirmed to be repaired, and its status remained unknown. On 24 August 2022 it was reported
Novocherkassk and sister ship
Tsezar Kunikov 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. Ukrainian air force
spokesmen stated that afterwards the ship was used heavily for
logistics to transport weapons and soldiers from Russia to the
Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine.
December 2023 strike On 26 December 2023,
Novocherkassk was struck by Ukrainian
cruise missiles while it was in a naval base in the city of
Feodosia in Russian-occupied Crimea. A Russian memorial site lists the names of 34 Russian sailors who were killed. Ukrainian President
Zelenskyy released a statement about the attack saying: "I am grateful to our Air Force for the spectacular replenishment of the Russian Black Sea submarine fleet with another vessel. There will be no peaceful place for the occupiers in Ukraine". President of Russia
Vladimir Putin was informed of the strike via the Russian Defense minister
Sergey Shoigu. U.K. Defense Secretary
Grant Shapps wrote that he believed the destruction of the ship was proof there was not a stalemate in the conflict, and that "over the past 4 months 20% of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet has been destroyed. Russia’s dominance in the Black Sea is now challenged.” The attack is part of a series of attacks on Russian ships, designed to constrain their ability to move troops and materials from Russia to occupied sections of Ukraine. ==References==