Direct proof of use
The Project 266M Akvamarin / Natya-class minesweeper family is documented in the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War through Ukrainian naval losses in Crimea and later Russian Black Sea Fleet damage and loss reports. USNI reported that Ukraine lost two Project 266M Natya I-class minesweepers during Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, alongside other Ukrainian mine-warfare vessels.
For Russian service, The New Voice of Ukraine reported a Russian Defence Ministry statement that the Project 266M minesweeper Ivan Golubets sustained minor damage during the 29 October 2022 Sevastopol drone attack. In May 2024, Ukrainska Pravda and Euromaidan Press reported Ukrainian Navy statements that the Russian Black Sea Fleet's Project 266-M Kovrovets had been destroyed. In March 2026, Ukraine's Ministry of Defence said the Natya-family minesweeper Valentin Pikul sank in a Novorossiysk strike, while Naval News reported confirmed significant damage to the same Project 266M vessel.
Sources: USNI Eastern European Navies, NV Ivan Golubets Damage, Ukrainska Pravda Kovrovets, Euromaidan Press Kovrovets, Ukraine MoD Black Sea Losses, Naval News Novorossiysk Strike
Timeline
The public record begins with the 2014 Crimea phase, when Ukrainian Natya I hulls were lost as Russia took control of Crimea and much of Ukraine's inherited naval infrastructure. That loss removed part of Ukraine's mine-countermeasure capacity before the full-scale invasion phase of the war.
The later milestones are Russian Black Sea Fleet attrition events. Ivan Golubets was reported damaged after the October 2022 Sevastopol attack; Kovrovets was reported destroyed overnight on 18-19 May 2024; and Valentin Pikul was reported damaged or sunk after the 1-2 March 2026 Novorossiysk strike.
Sources: USNI Eastern European Navies, NV Ivan Golubets Damage, Ukrainska Pravda Kovrovets, Ukraine MoD Black Sea Losses, Naval News Novorossiysk Strike
Role in the conflict
Project 266M was not a strike ship in this conflict record. KCHF describes the Natya class as Soviet ocean minesweepers with low-magnetic steel hulls, mine-search sonar, sweep gear, and related mine-countermeasure equipment. In the war, the class mattered because mine-warfare vessels support fleet access, port approaches, shipping routes, and base defense in the Black Sea.
Ukraine's losses in Crimea show the possession and seizure side of the record: the vessels were part of the Ukrainian Navy's mine-warfare inventory, then were lost during Russia's 2014 takeover of Crimea. USNI connected that loss to Ukraine's later need for mine countermeasures to help make Black Sea commercial shipping channels safer.
Russia's record is mainly one of continued fielding and attrition. Ivan Golubets, Kovrovets, and Valentin Pikul were all tied to the Russian Black Sea Fleet or its Novorossiysk base context in the cited sources. The sources support damage, destruction, or sinking claims for named vessels, but they do not establish a specific Project 266M mine-clearance mission conducted during the war.
Sources: KCHF Project 266M Ivan Golubets, USNI Eastern European Navies, NV Ivan Golubets Damage, Ukrainska Pravda Kovrovets, Euromaidan Press Kovrovets, Ukraine MoD Black Sea Losses, Naval News Novorossiysk Strike
