Direct proof of use
The documented Russia-Ukraine War use of the Project 206MR Vikhr / Matka-class boat centers on the Ukrainian Navy vessel P153 Pryluky. Open-source naval reporting recorded Pryluky patrolling the coast near Odesa on March 2, 2022, during the first week of Russia's full-scale invasion.
That evidence supports fielding and coastal patrol use, not a confirmed missile engagement. Contemporary service-context reporting described Pryluky as the Ukrainian Navy's only Matka-class boat and as a patrol boat in Ukrainian service before the 2022 invasion.
Sources: Russian Fleet Analysis Ukraine War, MilitaryLand Pryluky Repair
Timeline
Pryluky was returned to Ukrainian control after the 2014 seizure of Crimea and subsequently operated from Odesa. Ukrainian and naval-reference accounts describe the boat as undergoing repair and continuing in Ukrainian service in the years before the full-scale invasion.
On March 2, 2022, with Russian naval forces active off Odesa and merchant vessels being struck or endangered in the same maritime theater, Pryluky was reported patrolling near the city. A day later, Ukraine reported the loss of the Island-class patrol vessel P190 Sloviansk near Odesa, underscoring the vulnerability of Ukrainian patrol craft operating at sea.
Sources: Naval Encyclopedia Ukrainian Navy, MilitaryLand Pryluky Repair, Russian Fleet Analysis Ukraine War
Narrative
Project 206MR was originally a Soviet hydrofoil missile-boat design, but Pryluky's conflict role in 2022 is best described as coastal patrol and force protection. MilitaryLand identified Pryluky as a Matka-class patrol boat, built in 1980, transferred to Ukraine in 1997, and sent for scheduled repairs in 2021.
The Odesa patrol report places the boat in the coastal defense environment rather than in a documented strike role. Russian Fleet Analysis described Russian and Ukrainian naval activity around Odesa on March 2, including a Russian frigate seen on the horizon, a later smoke plume, and Pryluky patrolling near the coast that evening.
The available public record therefore supports a narrow claim: Ukraine fielded Pryluky in the naval theater of the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War, specifically during the 2022 full-scale invasion around Odesa. It does not establish that Pryluky fired missiles or guns in a confirmed engagement.
Sources: Russian Fleet Analysis Ukraine War, MilitaryLand Pryluky Repair, Naval Encyclopedia Ukrainian Navy
