Direct proof of use
Project 22800 Karakurt-class corvettes appeared in the war as Russian missile-carrier assets in occupied Crimea. Ukraine's Ministry of Defence identified Askold as a Project 22800 Karakurt-class missile corvette struck at the Zaliv shipyard in Kerch on November 4, 2023, and said the ship could carry eight Kalibr cruise missiles.
The same Ukrainian Ministry of Defence account listed Tsiklon as another Project 22800 Karakurt-class missile corvette and said it was destroyed by a missile strike in Sevastopol on May 19, 2024. Maritime Executive reported that Ukraine's Navy later described Tsiklon as destroyed and that satellite imagery assessed by the Institute for the Study of War was consistent with a casualty response at the berth.
Sources: Ukrainian MOD Black Sea Fleet Losses, Maritime Executive Tsiklon Strike
Narrative
Askold was still at the Zaliv shipyard when Ukrainian forces struck the Kerch facility. RFE/RL reported Ukraine's confirmation that the Russian missile carrier Askold, identified as a Karakurt-class ship, had received significant damage in occupied Crimea; the article also noted Russia's acknowledgement that a ship had been damaged in a Ukrainian missile strike on the shipyard.
Defense Express analyzed post-strike imagery and reported that the hit damaged the central part of Askold's hull, where the vertical launch cells for Kalibr or P-800 Oniks cruise missiles were located. The publication assessed that the damage affected the ship's main weapons area and other core systems, but this remains an analytical assessment rather than a Russian loss admission.
Tsiklon provided the later, in-service example. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence described it as the last Kalibr cruise missile carrier based in Crimea and said satellite imagery later confirmed that it had sunk at the pier after the May 19, 2024 strike. Maritime Executive similarly framed Tsiklon as a Project 22800 missile corvette capable of launching Kalibr land-attack cruise missiles and connected Ukraine's targeting of such platforms to Russia's long-range missile campaign against Ukraine.
Available sources directly support Russian deployment or fielding of Project 22800 vessels in the war and Ukrainian strikes that removed or damaged those vessels. They do not, in the sources used here, identify a specific missile launch against Ukraine by Askold or Tsiklon.
Sources: RFE/RL Askold Kerch Strike, Defense Express Askold Damage, Ukrainian MOD Black Sea Fleet Losses, Maritime Executive Tsiklon Strike
