Ukrainian Forces Hit Karakurt Missile Ship — Kalibr Missiles’ Carrier

During the attack on Primorsk, Ukrainian forces also hit a Karakurt-class small missile ship, a carrier of Kalibr cruise missiles.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced this following a report by Major General Yevhen Khmara, Head of the Special Operations Center “A” of the Security Service of Ukraine.

Units of the Security Service of Ukraine, the Unmanned Systems Forces, the Special Operations Forces, the Defense Intelligence, and border guards jointly conducted the operation.

A patrol boat and another tanker from the shadow oil fleet were also hit. The infrastructure at the oil loading port sustained significant damage.

Karakurt-class missile ships

Project 22800 Karakurt-class small missile ships are primarily designed as cruise missile carriers. Each vessel is equipped with a vertical launcher with eight cells, which can carry Kalibr cruise missiles and Oniks supersonic anti-ship missiles.

Artillery armament includes a 76.2 mm AK-176MA automatic gun mount, two six-barrel 30 mm AK-630M systems, and two 12.7 mm Kord machine guns.

A full-fledged air defense system was installed on Karakurt-class ships starting from the third vessel of the series, integrating the naval Pantsir-ME system. Additionally, a Tor-M2KM air defense module can be installed on board.

The displacement is about 800 tons, the length is 60 meters, the beam is 9 meters, and the draft is 4 meters. Maximum speed reaches about 30 knots, with a cruising range of about 2,500 nautical miles. Endurance is up to 15 days.

This is not the first time Ukrainian forces have hit ships of this class. In November 2023, the Askold, a Project 22800 vessel at the Zaliv shipyard, sustained critical damage in a missile strike using Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles.

On May 19, 2024, the Tsiklon was sunk in a missile strike by Ukrainian forces using ATACMS ballistic missiles on the port of Sevastopol in occupied Crimea.

After that, the remaining ships of this class — Amur and Tucha — were withdrawn from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea. In October 2025, Amur was redeployed further to the Baltic Sea via the Volga-Don Canal.

As of February 2026, a total of 16 ships of this class are planned: six are in service, six are being completed or prepared for transfer, and two more are under construction.