The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported a strike on the Project 23550 patrol icebreaker Purga at the Vyborg Shipyard in the Leningrad region of Russia.

"During a joint operation of the Ukrainian Defense Forces in the Leningrad region on the night of March 25, a ship of the Russian occupiers was hit at the Vyborg Shipyard. According to preliminary information, it is the patrol icebreaker Purga of Project 23550," the General Staff reported on its Telegram channel.

According to the military, the ship was intended for service within the Border Service of the Federal Security Service (FSB) of Russia. Such vessels perform the tasks of both an icebreaker and a combat ship.

The Project 23550 (Ivan Papanin-class) vessels are multirole Arctic patrol ships designed to protect Russia’s interests in the Arctic. They have a displacement of approximately 8,500 tonnes and a length of 114 meters. The ships are designed to carry significant armament, including the AK-176MA naval gun and, potentially, Kalibr-K cruise missile systems in containerized launchers.

Reports and social media footage from the site indicate that the Purga sustained structural damage and has taken on a visible list to its port side. At the time of the strike, the vessel was in the final stages of construction, having been launched in October 2022. The attack was part of a broader drone operation that also targeted the Novatek gas condensate processing facility at the Port of Ust-Luga and the Primorsk oil terminal.