Ukraine’s military has repeatedly attacked the Russian Black Sea Fleet with long-range weapons, sinking its flagship and destroying or damaging about one-third of its total strength. While it has primarily targeted warships, it has occasionally taken aim at support vessels, like the tug Vasiliy Bekh, the tanker Sig – and now, the antique sub tender Kommuna, one of the oldest working naval vessels in the world. 

Kommuna has been in commission for 109 years, serving through the First World War, the Russian Civil War, the Second World War (including the defense of Leningrad), decades of Cold War standoffs with the United States, and the long-running invasion of Ukraine. She has been stationed in the Black Sea as a submarine rescue vessel since 2012, and has been homeported in Russian-occupied Sevastopol.

Kommuna in the Black Sea, in her modern configuration (George Chernilevsky / public domain)

Capt. Dmytro Pletenchuk, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy, told Ukrainska Pravda that the Kommuna has had an operational role servicing vessels of the Russian Black Sea Fleet during the ongoing invasion. The Ukrainian Navy targeted the vessel in port in Sevastopol, and Pletenchuk said that the operation caused an unknown amount of damage. “Early reports indicate that the…