The anniversary of the Russian attack on the Ukrainian ship “Pavlo Vereshchagin”: what it was like

Today marks 24 years since the day when a Russian missile attacked a Ukrainian civilian ship.

On April 24, 2000, a Russian anti-ship missile hit the Ukrainian steamship “Pavlo Vereshchagin” in the area of ​​Cape Tarkhankut.

Then, as a result of the attack, 37-year-old electromechanic Vadym Ponomarenko was injured.

Exercises of the Black Sea Fleet

At that time, the Russians were conducting missile exercises at Cape Chersonesos (in the southwest of Crimea). The firing area was guarded by 13 ships of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation. So, in 2000, the Russians conducted military exercises on the territory of Ukraine, feeling like they were at home.

Attack on the motor ship “Pavlo Vereshchagin”

The Ukrainian steamship “Pavlo Vereshchagin” was on its way from Istanbul to Skadovsk when it accidentally entered the affected area, remaining unnoticed.

A missile with a blank warhead passed through the ship’s cockpit. The size of the hole punched by the rocket was 2 meters at the entrance and 4 meters at the exit. It is known that there were 17 sailors, 5 passengers and 92 tons of cargo on the ship. People miraculously did not die, only one crew member was injured.

It is not known whether the shot at the ship was really accidental, or whether the Russians decided to “punish” the Ukrainian ship, which prevented the ships of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation from preparing for war with Ukraine. But the command of the Black Sea Fleet said that it does not plan to consider claims related to the incident. The Russians assured that they allegedly notified the Center of Navigational Information of Ukraine in Odesa about the training.

In the end, the scapegoat was made of the captain, who allegedly ignored the training notice. Later, the investigation established that the captain did not receive any messages, but this is already implied on Russian resources.

It is interesting that currently there is not enough information on the Internet about the incident with the motor ship “Pavlo Vereshchagin”. But in Russian social networks, you can find publications of pro-Kremlin channels that remember this day with pride, blame Ukrainians for the incident and rejoice that they “paid”. One such post is dated 2020 — even before the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Russian ship “Pavlo Vereshchagin”

There is a customs vessel in Russia, which is the “namesake” of the Ukrainian ship and is called “Pavlo Vereshchagin”. It is intended “for the protection of the customs borders of the Russian Federation.” It is interesting that it was put into operation on November 5, 2000 – half a year after the shelling of the Ukrainian ship. It is not surprising if the name for the Russian vessel was not chosen by chance. Russians tend to appropriate even what they want to destroy.