The Russian missile cruiser "Admiral Essen" was struck in the Black Sea

On the night of September 9, Ukrainian forces struck infrastructure at a Russian naval base in Novorossiysk. The frigate “Admiral Essen” was also hit, and a fire broke out on its deck following the strike.

This was reported by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.

According to the Main Intelligence Directorate, the operation was carried out by operatives from the Department of Active Intelligence Operations in coordination with other units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

During the attack, the infrastructure of the Russian naval base in Novorossiysk was struck, as well as the Project 11356 frigate “Admiral Essen.”

A fire broke out on the ship’s superstructure following the strike. The Main Intelligence Directorate did not specify the nature or extent of the damage to the frigate.

The “Admiral Essen” is equipped with“Kalibr”cruise missiles. Russia regularly uses missiles of this type during strikes against Ukraine, particularly against civilian infrastructure.

It is worth noting that the Russian frigate “Admiral Essen” has repeatedly sustained damage as a result of strikes by Ukrainian defense forces on the naval base in Novorossiysk.

During one of the large-scale attacks in August 2026, satellite images recorded damage to the ship’s bow and to the UKSK 3S14 launchers for “Kalibr” missiles, which may have rendered the frigate incapable of using these weapons.

Previously, there were also reports of the ship being hit in March and May 2026, as well as in 2022.

As reported by Intent, the Ukrainian military recently struck a Russian BK-16 landing craft and a “Krasukha-4” mobile electronic warfare station in the temporarily occupied Crimea. 

Ірина Глухова