2014 Russia-Ukraine War

Island-class patrol boat in the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War

Ukraine fielded former U.S. Coast Guard Island-class patrol boats in the Black Sea after U.S. transfers that began before the 2022 full-scale invasion, and the patrol boat Sloviansk was reported sunk during reconnaissance and port-protection missions off Odesa in March 2022.

Weapon profileIsland-class patrol boat
SideUkraineRoleForce ProtectionReconnaissance & SurveillanceTraining & Foreign Aid
Island-class patrol boat, 110-foot coastal patrol boat, Naval Systems - 2014 Russia-Ukraine War
Image source: Wikimedia Commons P190 Sloviansk

Evidence Map

ClaimSources
Ukraine commissioned two former U.S. Coast Guard Island-class patrol boats, Sloviansk and Starobilsk, at Odesa in November 2019.

Sources: U.S. 6th Fleet Island-Class Transfer

The U.S. transfer program covered five Island-class patrol boats for Ukraine by late 2021, including ex-Cushing, ex-Drummond, ex-Ocracoke, ex-Washington, and ex-Kiska/Kubrak.

Sources: USCG Cutter Transfer to Ukraine

U.S. official sources described the boats as improving Ukrainian Black Sea maritime security, situational awareness, coastline security, and sovereignty projection.

Sources: U.S. 6th Fleet Island-Class Transfer, USCG Cutter Transfer to Ukraine

Sloviansk was reported sunk after a Russian aircraft strike while conducting reconnaissance and port-protection tasks in the Odesa region on March 3, 2022.

Sources: Ukrainska Pravda Slovyansk Sinking

Independent maritime reporting described Sloviansk as an Island-class boat transferred to Ukraine and lost during reconnaissance and port-protection missions for Odesa-area ports.

Sources: Maritime Executive Sloviansk Loss

Timeline

Island-class patrol boat In 2014 Russia-Ukraine War

  1. Sloviansk and Starobilsk commissioned at Odesa

    U.S. 6th Fleet reported that two former U.S. Coast Guard 110-foot patrol boats were commissioned into the Ukrainian Navy as Sloviansk and Starobilsk after a Coast Guard training program.

    Sources: U.S. 6th Fleet Island-Class Transfer

  2. Kubrak crew training completed

    The Coast Guard recognized Ukrainian sailors who had completed training for Kubrak, the former Coast Guard Cutter Kiska, and described it as the fifth 110-foot Island-class patrol boat transferred to Ukraine.

    Sources: USCG Cutter Transfer to Ukraine

  3. Additional Ukrainian transfers described

    The Coast Guard said ex-Drummond and ex-Cushing had been delivered in 2019, ex-Ocracoke and ex-Washington would be transported to Ukraine later in 2021, and Kubrak was expected for delivery in early 2022.

    Sources: USCG Cutter Transfer to Ukraine

  4. Sloviansk sunk in Odesa-region combat reporting

    Ukrainska Pravda reported that Slovyansk was hit by a Russian aircraft while conducting reconnaissance and port-protection tasks and sank after an air-to-ground cruise-missile strike.

    Sources: Ukrainska Pravda Slovyansk Sinking

  5. Maritime reporting corroborates the loss account

    The Maritime Executive reported Sloviansk lost during reconnaissance and protection missions for Odesa-area ports and the southern Black Sea approaches.

    Sources: Maritime Executive Sloviansk Loss

Documented Use

Direct proof of use

Island-class patrol boats entered the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War through U.S. security assistance to the Ukrainian Navy. U.S. 6th Fleet reported that two former U.S. Coast Guard 110-foot patrol boats were commissioned into Ukrainian Navy service at Odesa on November 13, 2019, under the names Sloviansk and Starobilsk, after a Coast Guard training program for Ukrainian sailors.

The same U.S. 6th Fleet account tied the transfer to Ukrainian maritime security in the Black Sea, saying the boats would expand operational capacity, improve situational awareness, and support coastline and shipping-lane security. A Coast Guard acquisition release later identified ex-Cushing and ex-Drummond as delivered to Ukraine in 2019, ex-Ocracoke and ex-Washington as scheduled for transport in late 2021, and ex-Kiska/Kubrak as the fifth Island-class patrol boat transferred under the Excess Defense Articles program.

Direct battlefield-use reporting centers on Sloviansk. Ukrainska Pravda, citing Yuzhne mayor Volodymyr Novatsky, reported that on March 3, 2022 a Russian aircraft fired at the Slovyansk patrol boat while it was performing reconnaissance and port-protection tasks in the Odesa region, and that the boat sank after an air-to-ground cruise-missile strike. The Maritime Executive likewise reported Sloviansk lost during reconnaissance and port-protection missions for Odesa-area ports and the southern Black Sea approaches.

Sources: U.S. 6th Fleet Island-Class Transfer, USCG Cutter Transfer to Ukraine, Ukrainska Pravda Slovyansk Sinking, Maritime Executive Sloviansk Loss

Timeline

The public record separates transfer, fielding, and combat loss. Sloviansk and Starobilsk were commissioned into Ukrainian service in November 2019, after U.S. training and delivery, while the Coast Guard described additional Island-class transfers and crew training in 2021.

During the full-scale invasion phase, Sloviansk became the clearest documented Island-class combat-use incident. Reporting placed the strike on March 3, 2022, in the Odesa region, where the boat was on reconnaissance and port-protection duties as Russian forces threatened Ukraine's southern coast.

Sources: U.S. 6th Fleet Island-Class Transfer, USCG Cutter Transfer to Ukraine, Ukrainska Pravda Slovyansk Sinking, Maritime Executive Sloviansk Loss

Operational role

In Ukrainian service, the Island-class boats were patrol craft for maritime security rather than major surface combatants. U.S. official sources described their intended contribution in terms of Black Sea situational awareness, coastline and shipping-lane security, and Ukraine's ability to project national sovereignty.

The March 2022 Sloviansk reporting shows how that role translated in wartime: the boat was associated with reconnaissance and protection of Odesa-region ports. The available public sources support Ukrainian fielding, patrol and reconnaissance use, port-protection use, and the reported loss of Sloviansk; they do not establish a complete sortie history for the class, the fate of every Ukrainian Island-class hull during the invasion, or confirmed weapons fired by the boats.

Sources: U.S. 6th Fleet Island-Class Transfer, USCG Cutter Transfer to Ukraine, Ukrainska Pravda Slovyansk Sinking, Maritime Executive Sloviansk Loss

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Sources