On 21 August, the ship was one of those ships assigned to provide support for the defenders of Odessa, her first combat operation. On 7 September, "Sposobny" and the destroyer escorted the Commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Vice Admiral Filipp Oktyabrsky, aboard the destroyer leader , to Odessa. While they were present, all three ships bombarded Romanian troops; "Sposobny" firing 28 shells from her main guns. Four days later, the ship fired 49 shells at Romanian targets. During this period she also expended 64 76 mm and 135 45 mm rounds against Axis aircraft. On 16–21 September the destroyer helped to escort transports ferrying the 157th Rifle Division to Odessa. At the beginning of November, "Sposobny" started escorting supply and troop convoys to and from encircled Sevastopol and supporting Soviet troops with her guns. She suffered minor storm damage on 27 November, firing 292 shells between 4 and 8 December and 329 shells between 23 and 24 December against German positions besieging Sevastopol. Between 28 and 30 December, she covered the amphibious landings at Kerch and Feodosia.