The Caesar Kounikov was built in the Gdansk shipyards in 1986, in Poland, then under Soviet occupation. It had already suffered an attack on March 24, 2022, shortly after the large-scale Russian invasion, in Berdyansk.
It was put out of action on the anniversary of the death of the naval officer (February 14, 1943) in whose honor it was named. The Russian Defense Ministry has not yet communicated, but claimed to have shot down six Ukrainian drones “over the waters of the Black Sea” during the night.