Telegram channel “Crimean Wind” has spotted the Russian reconnaissance ship "Ivan Khurs" in Sevastopol with signs of significant damage after a Ukrainian attack. Kyiv forces struck the vessel in spring 2024.
Ivan Khurs's purpose was to provide communication and fleet command, conduct electronic reconnaissance, and perform electronic warfare. Now, the ship is completely non-operational. Satellite images after the impact showed damage to the stern.
They denied damage, but ship never went to sea again
Russia itself denied that the ship was targeted, but after this incident, it has not gone out to sea, and the Russian Black Sea Fleet carefully kept it hidden in bays. The ship is now completely non-operational.
New photos show that part of the bridge and the mast with antennas were destroyed and wrapped in scaffolding. The side deck is covered with camouflage netting, and the stern is devoid of equipment.
Ship led Soviet Navy intelligence from 1979 to 1987
Ivan Khurs is a Russian medium reconnaissance ship designed to operate in maritime and oceanic zones. It is the first ship in the Project 18280 series and one of only two built under this design. It joined the Russian Black Sea Fleet in June 2018 and was named after Vice Admiral Ivan Khurs, who led Soviet Navy intelligence from 1979 to 1987. The ship is capable of radio reconnaissance and electronic warfare.
Recently, the vessel has been spotted near the pier in Holland Bay, confirming its damaged condition and limited combat readiness. It was the newest ship in the Russian fleet, commissioned in 2018.
Ukraine hunted for “Ivan Khurs” for a year
During the Cold War, Soviet reconnaissance ships hid along the coasts of the US and its allies, using electronic receivers to locate military radars and other systems. Today, they have been replaced by larger, more advanced reconnaissance vessels. Ivan Khurs was one of these ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces had been tracking the 4,000-ton ship, which has a crew of 131, for about a year before the assault. Forbes recalls that in May 2023, Ukrainian maritime drones chased Ivan Khurs as it sailed 120 km northeast of the Bosporus Strait in the western Black Sea.
The Ukrainian drone had to cover over 500 km in an extremely complex operation, the head of the UAV department of the Main Defense Intelligence, a general with the call sign “Borets", recounted in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda.
The mission’s start was delayed due to adverse weather, and communications were repeatedly disrupted.
