The Chervona Ukraina was a light cruiser that was laid down as a Svetlana-class ship (the lead ship of the Black Sea cruiser series) under the name Admiral Nakhimov on October 18, 1913, at the Nikolaev Shipyard. The cruiser's hull was launched on October 19, 1915. In early 1919, the cruiser fell into the hands of the French interventionists. The following year, the Armed Forces of Southern Russia towed her to Odessa, where she remained until the evacuation. In February 1920, the ship was towed back to Nikolaev. She remained moored at the shipyard until spring 1923, when it was decided to complete her with minor modifications. Specifically, the outdated anti-aircraft guns were discarded, and three triple-tube 450-mm torpedo tubes were added. On December 7, 1922, the cruiser was renamed "Chervona Ukraina". The ship was nearly ready for service when construction stopped, so completing her posed no problems. The cruiser successfully completed sea trials by December 1926 and was commissioned on March 21, 1927. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, the cruiser conducted several overseas voyages, including ones to Turkey, Italy, and Greece. In 1932, the cruiser underwent a major overhaul. From 1939 to 1941, the ship underwent modernization and repairs. During this time, she was equipped with new 100-mm Minisini mounts, her navigational equipment was updated, and all components and assemblies were overhauled.

Following the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, the ship was prepared for combat missions. As early as June 23–24, 1941, she was involved in laying minefields in Sevastopol Bay. In July, the ship was transferred to Novorossiysk, from where she repeatedly escorted transports. On August 29, she participated in the landing of troops in Odessa. In late autumn of 1941, the ship participated in the evacuation of troops from Odessa.

On November 8, 1941, she was the first ship in the squadron to open fire on the advancing enemy in Sevastopol. She then provided artillery support to the ground forces of the Sevastopol defensive region. On November 12, the ship was subjected to a massive German air raid. She sustained several holes and serious damage during the attack. The crew was forced to abandon the ship on the night of November 13, and she sank the following morning. The cruiser's armament was used to equip fixed batteries and upgrade sister ships. In particular, two twin 100-mm mounts were installed on the cruiser Krasny Kavkaz. On November 3, 1947, the ship was raised and repaired. Afterward, she was used as a training station. On May 10, 1952, she was grounded to serve as a target ship.

The Chervona Ukraina was introduced in Update 2.57 "Heavy Cavalry" in her 1941 modification. The cruiser has numerous fairly powerful main battery guns that are inconveniently located in sponsons and shield mounts. This limits their effectiveness and reduces crew survivability. The ship has unremarkable mobility but is reasonably well protected for her class.