Captain 3rd Rank Killed During DIU’s Attack on Russian Buyan-M Small Missile Ship in August

Captain 3rd Rank (Major) Oleksandr Polovkov was killed in an attack on the Russian small missile ship Project 21631 “Buyan-M” in August.

The obituary was published by KIU, an account that tracks Russian losses from open sources.

The joint operation was carried out by the DIU’s Active Operations Department and the DIU’s “Prymary” special forces.

According to the intelligence officers, as a result of drone strikes, a Russian missile ship located in the Temryutskyi Bay was damaged and forced to leave the area of combat duty.

“Soldiers of the DIU’s ”Primary“ special unit damaged the ship’s radar with an aerial drone strike, and special forces of the DIU’s Active Operations Department attacked the board of the ‘Kalibr’ carrier,” the statement said.

Later it became known that the small missile ship of Project 21631 “Buyan-M” “Vyshniy Volochek” of the Russian Black Sea Fleet was seriously damaged after an accident near Crimea.

The ship collided with the civilian tanker Nazan flying the Turkish flag, which led to significant damage.

The accident occurred on August 7, 2025, in the Temryuk Bay of the Sea of Azov while performing “combat missions” as part of a ship’s group.

According to preliminary data, the warship was unable to avoid a collision with a civilian vessel during maneuvering, which caused serious damage to the hull.

Despite the obvious technical consequences, the official report stated that the incident occurred during a “drone attack,” and the ship’s combat readiness was allegedly not affected.

The ship allegedly collided with the tanker after the radar station was damaged by drones from the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine.

Although KIU reports that Polovkov was among the crew of the Ingushetia, it is possible that these events are interconnected.