Russian landing ship Saratov

Saratov was built by Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad, being laid down on 5 February 1964 and launched on 1 July 1964 as BDK-10. She was commissioned into the Soviet Navy on 18 August 1966 as part of its Black Sea Fleet. She was homeported in Sevastopol, and with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in late December 1991, she went on to serve in the Russian Navy. ==Career==

Entering service as BDK-10, she was renamed Voronezhsky Komsomolets in honour of the Komsomol association in Voronezh on 22 February 1967. She went on to make more than 20 long-distance cruises carrying troops between 1966 and 2004. In 1991 she was laid up inactive in Odesa, and with the dissolution of the Soviet Union later that year, her Soviet-era name was changed to BDK-65. ==Loss==

on 24 March 2022 Saratov was one of the Black Sea Fleet's landing forces used to support the Russian invasion of Ukraine from February 2022. The Port of Berdiansk was captured, and on 21 March, Russian media Zvezda reported on the arrival of amphibious transports in Berdiansk. At 7:45 on 24 March the port was struck by what Ukrainian officials claimed was a OTR-21 Tochka tactical ballistic missile. Saratov caught fire and suffered a large explosion, suggested to be as a result of ammunition in her cargo. Two nearby s, the , and the , were also damaged in the attack and explosion, but were able to leave port. Satellite imagery later confirmed the Saratov had sunk in the harbour, with her superstructure visible above the surface. On 2 July Russia announced that the ship had been damaged by a missile strike and scuttled by her crew "to prevent detonation of the on-board munitions", and that she had been salvaged and would be towed to Kerch in Crimea. ==References==