Ukrainian military intelligence claims responsibility for the sabotage of Russian minesweeper in Kaliningrad
Last April, the Ukrainian Main Directorate of Military Intelligence (GUR) claimed responsibility for a fire aboard the corvette Serpukhov (Buyan-M class). The ship is assigned to the Russian Baltic Fleet and based in Kaliningrad, more than 1,500 km (930 mi) from the Black Sea. Now, the GUR allegedly targeted the minesweeper Alexander Obukhov.
In support of its April claims, the GUR produced a video showing plans of the corvette in question and an incendiary device placed in one of its compartments by a Russian sailor who was preparing to defect to join the Freedom of Russia Legion. The GUR added that the fire had destroyed the ship's communication systems and that it would take a long time to restore them. It should be noted that Moscow remained silent about the incident.
Video: The Buyan-M class corvette Serpukhov / YouTube
The Serpukhov corvette, which entered service in 2015, is a modestly sized ship of 900 tonnes displacement and 75 meters in length, capable of carrying Kalibr cruise missiles. Project 21631 (also known as the Grad Sviyazhsk class) is an extended and improved version of the Project 21630 (Buyan) gunboats. A total of 12 units of this class were ordered, intended to serve in both the Caspian and Black Sea fleets.
In the bow turret, the ships carry one 100mm A-190 gun. Behind the main superstructure is a launcher for Kalibr anti-ship missiles, along with two 30mm AK-630M defensive systems. The armament is complemented by a short-range 3M-47 Gibka anti-aircraft missile system using Igla-1M missiles, and two 14.5mm and three 7.62mm machine guns. The propulsion system follows a CODAD concept, combining two Zvezda M520 diesels and water jets, allowing the corvette a top speed of 28 knots. Its range is 2,500 nautical miles at 12 knots. Project 21631 corvettes were first deployed as part of the Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war, launching Kalibr missiles from the Caspian Sea at Syrian land targets. In 2022, they were similarly involved in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Images taken during Russian Navy Day, held on 28 July in St. Petersburg, show a Buyan-M corvette with the same hull number (563) as the Serpukhov. Was the ship refitted quickly? Did the fire cause less damage than the GUR had anticipated? Or was a different ship painted with the same hull number to avoid speculation?
Video: The second ship in the Russian Baltic fleet to be neutralised / YouTube
In any case, six months later, Ukrainian military intelligence claimed it had targeted another ship in the Russian Baltic Fleet. This time, it was the 890-tonne minesweeper Alexander Obukhov, which entered service in 2016.
According to a press release published on 7 October, the GUR claimed to have sabotaged the minesweeper's propulsion system, citing the mysterious appearance of a hole in a gas pipe. This reportedly caused serious water ingress into a Zvezda M503 diesel engine, which the GUR described as a rare piece of equipment. The service added that "repairing a key installation on a ship is technically difficult and costly."
In support of its claim, the GUR released another video showing an individual, presumably a seaman on board, sabotaging the ship. However, it is not possible to authenticate these images. "The Obukhov is already the second ship in the Russian Baltic fleet to be neutralized in the last six months. We recall that in April 2024, as a result of Operation Rybalka, the missile boat Serpukhov was neutralized," the GUR concluded.
Video: Alexander Obukhov-class minesweepers / YouTube
The Project 12700 ships are a series of Russian minesweepers. As of August 2024, nine ships have been built (eight in the fleet), with four under construction. The peculiarity of this project is that the hull was initially developed with the possibility of building patrol ships or auxiliary vessels for both military and civilian purposes. The Alexander Obukhov is the lead ship of the class.
The project envisions the formation of an anti-mine defense system using the latest high-performance hydroacoustic stations, installed both on the ship and on teleoperated and autonomous underwater vehicles for searching and destroying sea mines in coastal and maritime zones. The ships are equipped with two star-shaped 42-cylinder M503B-1 diesel engines with a capacity of 2,500 hp each, manufactured by Zvezda PJSC, allowing for a maximum speed of 16.5 knots.
The Alexander Obukhov was laid down on 22 September 2011 at the Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard. According to the initial plan, the launch was scheduled for 2012, but the timeline was postponed to 2013. Vladimir Seredokho, general director of the Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard, stated in an interview with Rambler News Service that "the delivery date of the lead mine defense ship of Project 12700, Alexander Obukhov, was disrupted due to the refusal of the French partners to supply the necessary equipment." The launch finally took place on 27 June 2014, and the ship was commissioned into the fleet on 9 December 2016.
