After the start of the German invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa) in June 1941, the ship helped to lay minefields off Sevastopol.

During the Siege of Odessa the ship transported troops and supplies while providing naval gunfire support to the defenders until she was crippled by German dive bombers in September.

The ship ferried troops and supplies for the rest of the year and then provided fire support during an amphibious landing behind German lines in the Caucasus in February 1943.

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).

While providing fire support during the amphibious landing at Grigorievka on 22 September, Besposhchadny was attacked by Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers of StG 77.

While still under repair, Besposhchadny was attacked by Stukas from StG 77 on 12 November; they hit her once in the aft boiler room and near missed her several times.

On 29 November, Besposhchadny and Boyky were tasked to attack Axis shipping off the Bulgarian coast and to bombard the port of Mangalia, Romania.

They failed to locate any ships and mistook coastal rocks for a convoy in heavy fog on 1 December, firing 141 shells from their main guns and six torpedoes at them.

Besposhchadny, together with the light cruiser Krasnyi Krym and the destroyer Nezamozhnik, transported the 9th Mountain Rifle Division and other troops from Batumi, Georgia, to Tuapse in early December.

Together with Soobrazitelny, Besposhchadny covered the sortie of a division of minesweepers off the Romanian coast and then unsuccessfully patrolled south of Fidonisi themselves on 26–29 December.

Boyky and Besposhchadny, together with the destroyer Sposobny made an unsuccessful attempt on 30 September to intercept German transports evacuating troops and equipment from the Kuban Bridgehead.

During the night of 5/6 October, Kharkov, Besposhchadny and Sposobny attempted to intercept German evacuation convoys off the Crimean coast, but were again unsuccessful.