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2022-03-18 Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
The Curious Case Of Russia's 'Back From The Dead' Warship That Ukraine Supposedly Struck
[TheDriveTheWarzone] One of Russia's newest warships was said to have been struck by Ukrainian rockets, but has shown up unscathed in Crimea.

In another example of the fog of war and the myths that have emerged around the conflict in Ukraine, video footage and pictures appeared online today showing the Russian Navy's Project 22160 patrol ship Vasiliy Bykov sailing into the port of Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula without any visible damage. The Ukrainian military reportedly severely damaged, if not sunk this vessel in the Black Sea more than a week ago using unguided artillery rockets fired from the shore. A video purportedly of Vasiliy Bykov burning after the supposed attack may actually show a commercial ship that was seriously damaged by an errant Russian missile early in the conflict and that remains on fire in the Black Sea nearly three weeks later.

The Vasiliy Bykov was the first Project 22160 patrol ship to enter service, being commissioned in 2018. The Russian Navy now has three of these vessels on active duty, all assigned to its Black Sea Fleet, which Russia relocated to Crimea after seizing it from Ukraine in 2014. A fourth Project 22160 ship was undergoing sea trials as of October 2021 and two more are under construction.

The Project 22160s, the design of which you can read more about here, are some of the most modern warships in the Russian Navy today. Destroying one would have represented a significant loss for Russia and it's not necessarily surprising that Ukrainian authorities were quick to say they had taken out Vasiliy Bykov.

In addition, Vasiliy Bykov had been involved in the Russian military's assault on Ukraine's Zmiinyi Island, or Snake Island, in the western Black Sea. The Ukrainian defenders there had attained an almost legendary status after audio emerged of them refusing a demand to surrender and responding instead with the now-iconic phrase "Russian warship, go fuck yourself!" The 13 Ukrainian border guards stationed on Snake Island were initially presumed to have been killed in an ensuing attack, though this later turned out not to be the case, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had quickly announced he would honor them as Heroes of Ukraine. So, sinking, or even seriously damaging this ship would have had clear additional propaganda value as a direct act of vengeance.

Still, from the very beginning, there were questions about the likelihood of shore-based short-range, unguided artillery rocket systems being able to hit a relatively small target, at least by ship standards, sailing out in the Black Sea. Subsequent reports said that the Ukrainian armed forces had pulled this off by using small patrol boats to lure the Russian ship toward the shore until it was within range. Video footage showing a burning vessel accompanied the claims as evidence of the attack at least having successfully damaged Vasiliy Bykov.

There is the possibility that the Russian Navy could have repainted one of the other two Project 22160 patrol ships, either the Dmitriy Rogachev or the Pavel Derzhavin, to conceal the loss of Vasily Bykov. However, comparisons between the imagery of the ship today and of it from before March 7 suggest that this is not the case.
Posted by Thing From Snowy Mountain 2022-03-18 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11139 views ]  Top

#1 "the fog of war and the myths"
IOW all the media bullshit and propaganda designed to drag us into another pointless war that concerns us not. Like all of this BS
Posted by Hupusoth Whong7273 2022-03-18 00:36||   2022-03-18 00:36|| Front Page Top

#2 As I recall the US airmen shot down more German planes than were ever built
Posted by magpie 2022-03-18 01:12||   2022-03-18 01:12|| Front Page Top

#3 Yes of course. Putin painted one of his old ships and gave it the same markings so he wouldn't look like such a loser. Like he secretly buried a hundred thousand Russian soldiers out in Belarus in unmarked graves last week. Fools.
Posted by Cthulhu of Ryleh 2022-03-18 01:24||   2022-03-18 01:24|| Front Page Top

#4 Which is pretty damn good shooting!!!
Posted by Tyranysaurus Ulomolet3546 2022-03-18 04:16||   2022-03-18 04:16|| Front Page Top

#5 #3 Yes of course. Putin painted one of his old ships and gave it the same markings so he wouldn't look like such a loser. Like he secretly buried a hundred thousand Russian soldiers out in Belarus in unmarked graves last week. Fools.
Posted by: Cthulhu of Ryleh 2022-03-18 01:24

....During the Cold War, both the Russians and the US were known to paint new bow numbers on smaller combatants to confuse the other side. I'm not saying this is what happened; I haven't seen enough comparison pictures to make a call - but it's quite within the realm of possibility. If I see a pennant number on a Russian warship, I start by assuming a better than even chance it's not accurate.

Mike
Posted by Mike Kozlowski 2022-03-18 06:41||   2022-03-18 06:41|| Front Page Top

#6 
Here is what Ship Tracker shows...for the VASILIY-BIKOV aka MMSI 273549630.

Note the Last paragraph?
"There is the possibility that the Russian Navy could have repainted one of the other two Project 22160 patrol ships, either the Dmitriy Rogachev or the Pavel Derzhavin, to conceal the loss of Vasily Bykov." Could Russia have adjusted and painted VASILIY-BIKOV on one of them as counter Properganda efforts?

BTW: the last "known" location Nov. 2021 puts at 41°07'33.6"N 29°04'53.4"E is in the Maslak, Turkey channel area to the Black Sea.
Posted by NN2N1 2022-03-18 09:00||   2022-03-18 09:00|| Front Page Top

#7 Somebody probably donated Mk14 torpedoes to the cause. A good chance to clear old inventory.
Posted by Super Hose 2022-03-18 12:25||   2022-03-18 12:25|| Front Page Top

#8 there were questions about the likelihood of shore-based short-range, unguided artillery rocket systems being able to hit a relatively small target

Multiple launch rocket systems like Grad are used to attack area targets, like men and vehicles in the open. With a missile, you need to hit the exact target, with MLRS, you just need to hit the 100 meter square the ship is in.

The VB may not have been sunk, since a warship is a harder target than people and trucks, but could have been damaged for a mission kill. Or the Russians decided they had worn out their welcome and it was time to leave.

Or the latest sighting of the Vasiliy Bykov is simply an inflatable rubber decoy.
Posted by SteveS 2022-03-18 15:46||   2022-03-18 15:46|| Front Page Top

#9 Or its The Flying Dutchman Yeltsin.
Posted by swksvolFF 2022-03-18 17:05||   2022-03-18 17:05|| Front Page Top

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