Russia’s ‘Ivan Khurs’ Spy Ship Keeps Tabs On Ukrainian Radars And Missiles. No Wonder The Ukrainians Have Been Hunting The Ship For A Year.

Throughout the Cold War, Soviet navy AGI spy trawlers—that stands for “auxiliary, general intelligence”—lurked along U.S. and allied coastlines, tuning sensitive electronic receivers in order to detect, and classify, military radars and other systems.

Today bigger and much more sophisticated intelligence vessels have replaced the AGI trawlers. One of them, the Yury Ivanov-class intelligence ship Ivan Khurs, sails with the Russian navy’s Black Sea Fleet.

For nearly a year, the Ukrainian military has been hunting—with drone boats and missiles—the 4,000-ton Ivan Khurs and her 131 crew. And on Sunday, it seems, the Ukrainians finally hit the ship, damaging her with a cruise missile at her mooring in Sevastopol in occupied Ukraine, during a raid that also damaged as many as three landing ships.

Ten months ago in May, the Ukrainian navy’s explosives-laden, satellite-controlled drone boats chased down Ivan Khurs while the intel ship was sailing 75 miles northeast of the Bosporus Strait in the western Black Sea.

“The drone had to sail for over [310 miles] in an extremely difficult operation,” an official source told Ukrainian Pravda. “The start of the mission had been delayed due to inclement weather. The connection dropped repeatedly.”

While the drone boat got close and exploded, it apparently didn’t inflict any damage on Ivan Khurs. The intel vessel soon was spotted sailing back into Sevastopol, seemingly unimpaired.

It’s obvious why the Ukrainians kept trying. Ivan Khurs is fitted with radar warning receivers and other electronic eavesdropping gear that allow her to locate Ukraine’s own radars and missile batteries.

Especially those arrayed along the Black Sea coast. The same radars and missiles that have detected and shot down Russian warplanes over the Black Sea and plinked Russian warships on the Black Sea.

As the Ukrainians steadily have destroyed or damaged around a dozen of the Black Sea Fleet’s three-dozen pre-war ships, the Russians are trying harder to forestall further hits. That should include mapping Ukraine’s coastal forces.

Keeping the hits coming means preventing the Russians from mapping Ukraine’s coastal forces. That is, sinking Ivan Khurs.

It’s unclear how badly damaged the intel vessel is following the Sunday raid. Satellite imagery seems to reveal scorch marks on her stern. Maybe she’s operational. Maybe she isn’t.

Either way, Ivan Khurs still is afloat. Which means there’s a very good chance the Ukrainians aren’t done with her—and a third attack is likely.