On February 14, a series of explosions were heard in Crimea. According to the General Staff, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, together with three units of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, destroyed the large landing ship of the invaders – Caesar Kunikov. At the time of the defeat, he was in the territorial waters of Ukraine near Alupka.
What is known about the large landing ship Caesar Kunikov, what are its features and technical characteristics – in the ICTV Facts material.
What is known about the landing ship Caesar Kunikov
On the morning of February 14, 2024, the Russian large landing ship, the BDK Tsesar Kunikov, was hit.
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The Main Intelligence Directorate showed a video of the operation to destroy the large landing ship Caesar Kunikov with Magura V5 naval attack drones. The Main Intelligence Directorate noted that Caesar Kunikov received critical holes on the port side and began to sink.
Back in the spring of 2022, the Ukrainian Armed Forces damaged this landing ship with missiles. After that, it was repaired for a year, and now it has sunk.
Intelligence officers noted that the large landing ship was one of the newest Russian ships. Caesar Kunikov could accommodate 87 crew members on board. Russia used it during its wars against Syria, Georgia and Ukraine.
Features of the large landing ship Caesar Kunikov
Military-political observer Alexander Kovalenko spoke on the telegram channel about the features of the large landing ship Caesar Kunikov. He noted that this is a Russian landing ship of Project 775, side number – 158. It was built in Poland at the Stocznia Polnocna shipyard in Gdansk, and put into operation in 1986.
According to expert Alexander Kovalenko, such ships have recently been used primarily as transport in the logistics chains of the Russian occupation forces. As a landing function it was used for 12 units of armored vehicles and at least 340 landing personnel.
The question is, when the ship was sunk, was it loaded (and I wonder what) or was it empty? But even if it was empty, it’s still great! After all, in Russia, not a single shipyard can build or even fully repair these ships,” the expert noted.
The large ship is designed for transporting troops and cargo by sea, as well as for landing amphibious assault on an unequipped coast. It is capable of transporting various types of armored vehicles, including tanks, and unloading them directly onto a beachhead during an amphibious operation.
Caesar Kunikov was based in Sevastopol. Participated in:
- in the KFOR operation in Kosovo (1999);
- in the Russian-Georgian war (2008);
- provided support for the Syrian army (Operation Syrian Express 2015).
Was in service with the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy. On February 14, 2024, it was sunk off the Crimean coast by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Technical characteristics of the ship Caesar Kunikov
- length – 112.5 meters;
- width – 15 meters;
- speed – 18 knots;
- cruising range – 6000 miles;
- displacement – 4080 tons;
- draft – 3.7 meters;
- engines – 2 diesel, 2 propellers.
Armament: two twin 57 mm AK-725 artillery mounts, two Grad-M multiple launch rocket system launchers, 44 man-portable anti-aircraft launchers -missile complex Strela-2.
On board there can be 225 paratroopers, up to 500 tons of equipment and cargo. The ship's crew is 87 people.
Photo: Defense
