Direct proof of use
The Project 1241 Molniya/Tarantul family is directly documented in the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War through the Russian Black Sea Fleet corvette Ivanovets. Ukraine's Defence Intelligence reported that Group 13 destroyed the Ivanovets on the night of 31 January to 1 February 2024 while the vessel was at the roadstead of Lake Donuzlav near occupied Crimea.
Naval News identified the attacked ship as the Russian Black Sea Fleet's Project 1241.1, NATO Tarantul II, corvette and reported that multiple Ukrainian suicide unmanned surface vessels struck the ship. U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings likewise described Ivanovets as a Tarantul-class corvette sunk by Ukrainian unmanned surface vehicles on 31 January.
Sources: DIU Ivanovets Special Operation, Naval News Ivanovets USV Attack, USNI Ivanovets Analysis
Timeline
The key sourced milestone is the January-February 2024 loss of Ivanovets. DIU dated the attack to the night of 31 January to 1 February 2024; The War Zone reported that GUR chief Kyrylo Budanov said six direct naval-drone hits were made to the hull before the ship rolled astern and sank.
The sinking fits the conflict's Black Sea phase, in which Ukrainian unmanned surface vessels repeatedly attacked Russian naval units around occupied Crimea. The available sources support the Ivanovets event as a documented use and loss of a Russian Project 1241/Tarantul missile corvette, not a broader count of every Project 1241 hull used in the war.
Sources: DIU Ivanovets Special Operation, The War Zone Ivanovets Drone Boat Attack
Narrative
Ivanovets was a Russian Black Sea Fleet missile corvette operating from the occupied Crimean naval theater. Its documented conflict role was as a Russian surface combatant in the Black Sea, where Ukraine's long-range unmanned surface vessels targeted Russian ships and bases after the 2022 full-scale invasion.
The attack shows the class in wartime service rather than transfer or capture. Ukraine's account states that direct hits damaged the hull, immobilized the ship, and caused it to roll and sink; Naval News and USNI analysis tied the released video and event to a Project 1241/Tarantul corvette at or near Lake Donuzlav. The Russian Ministry of Defense had not publicly confirmed the sinking at the time of early reporting, but The War Zone cited Russian Telegram and naval-source acknowledgements while treating GUR's video as the direct attack evidence.
Sources: DIU Ivanovets Special Operation, Naval News Ivanovets USV Attack, USNI Ivanovets Analysis, The War Zone Ivanovets Drone Boat Attack
