Direct proof of use
Open sources tie Project 697TB to Russia's side of the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War through transfer and planned river-force employment rather than a publicly documented mine-clearing incident. KCHF's RT-59 profile identifies the boat as a Project 697TB inshore minesweeper, says it was transferred from the Caspian Flotilla to the Black Sea Fleet in July 2023, and lists it as still in service.
Defense Express later reported that Russian planning for the Dnieper River Flotilla drew on Caspian Flotilla assets and listed two Project 697TB minesweepers in that inventory. The same report said suitable assets for the Dnieper formation included artillery boats, patrol boats, landing craft, and part of the minesweeper force, with the planned operating area around the former Kakhovka Reservoir and the lower Dnipro below the destroyed Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant.
Sources: RT-59 - KCHF.ru, Dnieper River Flotilla ship plans - Defense Express
Dated milestones
The conflict-linked timeline begins with RT-59's reported July 2023 move to the Black Sea Fleet, more than a year after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. That transfer placed at least one Project 697TB boat in the Russian fleet most directly associated with Black Sea operations during the war.
On March 20, 2024, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced the formation of a Dnieper River Flotilla and boat brigade. Reporting in the following week framed the formation as a Kherson-area river security force intended to separate river-patrol tasks from the Black Sea Fleet and to deny Ukrainian cross-river operations.
Sources: RT-59 - KCHF.ru, Dnieper Flotilla vulnerability - Newsweek
Operational context
Project 697TB boats are small inshore minesweepers built for mine search, sweeping, and destruction in naval roadsteads, coastal waters, and dispersed basing areas. In the Ukraine-war context, the sourced role is force protection and river or coastal security rather than offensive strike: Defense Express connected the class to proposed Dnieper Flotilla assets, while KCHF's service listing connected RT-59 to the Black Sea Fleet.
Publicly available sources reviewed for this record do not identify a specific Project 697TB mine-clearance mission, engagement, loss, or strike during the war. The strongest supported claims are that RT-59 was transferred to the Black Sea Fleet during the war and that Project 697TB minesweepers appeared in reporting on possible Caspian Flotilla contributions to the Dnieper River Flotilla.
Sources: RT-59 - KCHF.ru, Project 697TB - RussianShips.info, Dnieper River Flotilla ship plans - Defense Express
