After the German invasion of the Soviet Union began in 1941, the ship provided naval gunfire support during the Siege of Odessa.

Frequently under repair due to running aground in 1941, Bditelny was unable to support the defenders of Sevastopol until early 1942 when she began to ferry supplies and troops there while also bombarding German positions outside the besieged city.

Variations in fuel oil capacity meant that the range of the Gnevnys varied between 1,670 to 3,145 nautical miles (3,093 to 5,825 km; 1,922 to 3,619 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph).

[9] When the Germans invaded the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, Bditelny was assigned to the 2nd Destroyer Division and was refitting in Nikolayev.

While covering the transfer of incomplete ships from Nikolayev to Sevastopol on 13 August, Bditelny was damaged when she accidentally collided with the freighter SS Kaments-Podolsk.

Bditelny helped to evacuate cut-off Soviet troops from pockets along the Black Sea coast to Sevastopol in early November.

[10] On 26 February, Bditelny, together with her sister Boyky and the leader Kharkov, bombarded German positions at Feodosia, expending 60 rounds from her main guns.

During an air raid on Novorossiysk by I. Gruppe (First Group) of Kampfgeschwader 76 (Bomber Wing 76) on 2 July, bomb splinters caused torpedoes in her forward mount to detonate, which set off her aft magazines, sinking the ship.