2014 Russia-Ukraine War

Project 1239 Sivuch / Bora-Class Missile Hovercraft in the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War

Russia's Black Sea Fleet fielded the Project 1239 ship Samum from Sevastopol during the war. Ukrainian and Russian reporting both place Samum in a 14 September 2023 Ukrainian unmanned-surface-vessel attack near Sevastopol, while disagreeing on the damage outcome.

Weapon profileProject 1239 Sivuch / Bora-class missile hovercraft
SideRussiaRoleArea DenialForce Protection
Project 1239 Sivuch / Bora-class missile hovercraft, Surface effect guided-missile corvette, Naval Systems - 2014 Russia-Ukraine War
Image source: Wikimedia Commons: Bora missile corvette 2008 G2.jpg

Evidence Map

ClaimSources
Russia fielded Samum, a Project 1239 missile hovercraft, with the Black Sea Fleet before and during the war.

Sources: RussianShips.info: Air Cushion Missile Ship Project 1239, TASS: Ukrainian unmanned boat destroyed during attack on Samum hovercraft

Ukrainian sources said an SBU Sea Baby unmanned surface vessel hit Samum near Sevastopol Bay on 14 September 2023.

Sources: Kyiv Independent: Ukraine hits Russian missile-carrying ship with sea drone, Al Jazeera: Ukraine strikes Russian ships, state-of-the-art aerial defences in Crimea

Russia acknowledged an attempted unmanned-boat attack on Samum but said the boat was destroyed by the ship's onboard weapons.

Sources: TASS: Ukrainian unmanned boat destroyed during attack on Samum hovercraft, Al Jazeera: Ukraine strikes Russian ships, state-of-the-art aerial defences in Crimea

The reported damage outcome remains contested in public sources.

Sources: Al Jazeera: Ukraine strikes Russian ships, state-of-the-art aerial defences in Crimea, Maritime Executive: Ukraine claims to have hit a rare Russian super-ship

Timeline

Project 1239 Sivuch / Bora-class missile hovercraft In 2014 Russia-Ukraine War

  1. Samum assigned to the Black Sea Fleet

    RussianShips.info lists Samum's transfer from the Baltic Fleet to the Russian Black Sea Fleet in July 2002, establishing the vessel's later Crimea-based service context.

    Sources: RussianShips.info: Air Cushion Missile Ship Project 1239

  2. Russia reports attack attempt against Samum

    TASS, citing Russia's Defence Ministry, reported that Ukrainian forces attempted to attack the Black Sea Fleet hovercraft Samum with an unmanned speedboat at about 16:30 on 14 September 2023, and said the boat was destroyed.

    Sources: TASS: Ukrainian unmanned boat destroyed during attack on Samum hovercraft

  3. Ukrainian-source reports claim Sea Baby strike

    The Kyiv Independent, citing New Voice and SBU sources, reported that a Sea Baby unmanned surface vessel struck Samum as it entered Sevastopol Bay and that the ship was forced to be towed for repairs.

    Sources: Kyiv Independent: Ukraine hits Russian missile-carrying ship with sea drone

  4. International reporting frames the damage claim as contested

    Al Jazeera reported the Ukrainian claim that Samum had been damaged and towed, while also noting Russia's statement that the ship destroyed the attacking unmanned naval boat.

    Sources: Al Jazeera: Ukraine strikes Russian ships, state-of-the-art aerial defences in Crimea

Documented Use

Direct proof of use

Samum, the second Project 1239 Sivuch/Bora-class missile hovercraft, was documented in the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War as a Russian Black Sea Fleet vessel operating around Sevastopol. On 14 September 2023, Russia's Defence Ministry said Ukrainian forces attempted to attack the Black Sea Fleet hovercraft Samum with an unmanned speedboat in Black Sea waters.

Ukrainian-source reporting the following day said the Security Service of Ukraine used a Sea Baby unmanned surface vessel to strike Samum as it entered Sevastopol Bay in Russian-occupied Crimea. Those reports said the drone hit the rear starboard side and that the ship was towed for repairs; Russian official reporting said the attacking unmanned boat was destroyed by Samum's onboard armament.

Sources: TASS: Ukrainian unmanned boat destroyed during attack on Samum hovercraft, Kyiv Independent: Ukraine hits Russian missile-carrying ship with sea drone, Al Jazeera: Ukraine strikes Russian ships, state-of-the-art aerial defences in Crimea

Timeline

Samum's relevant wartime appearance centers on the September 2023 Black Sea naval-drone campaign. Russian reporting on 14 September acknowledged an attempted Ukrainian unmanned-boat attack against Samum; Ukrainian and later international reporting attributed the attack to an SBU Sea Baby drone and described damage near the entrance to Sevastopol Bay.

The episode came amid broader Ukrainian strikes against Russian naval and air-defense assets in occupied Crimea and the Black Sea. Al Jazeera placed the Samum report alongside Ukrainian attacks on Project 22160 patrol ships, the Sevastopol shipyard strike, and other September 2023 actions against Russian positions in Crimea.

Sources: TASS: Ukrainian unmanned boat destroyed during attack on Samum hovercraft, Kyiv Independent: Ukraine hits Russian missile-carrying ship with sea drone, Al Jazeera: Ukraine strikes Russian ships, state-of-the-art aerial defences in Crimea

Narrative

Project 1239 use in the war is documented through Samum rather than a sustained public record of missile firings. The vessel's conflict role was that of a Russian Black Sea Fleet missile corvette and coastal-defense asset based around occupied Crimea, where its anti-ship missile battery and point-defense weapons made it part of Russia's surface-force presence.

The September 2023 incident also illustrates the difference between possession, deployment, and verified battlefield effect. The sources directly support Russian fielding of Samum in the Black Sea Fleet and an attempted or claimed Ukrainian unmanned-vessel attack on the ship. Ukrainian and Ukrainian-cited reports claim damage and towing; Russian official reporting confirms the attack attempt but says the unmanned boat was destroyed, so the damage outcome is best treated as contested in this record.

Sources: RussianShips.info: Air Cushion Missile Ship Project 1239, TASS: Ukrainian unmanned boat destroyed during attack on Samum hovercraft, Kyiv Independent: Ukraine hits Russian missile-carrying ship with sea drone, Maritime Executive: Ukraine claims to have hit a rare Russian super-ship

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Sources