Russian Admiral Essen frigate unlikely to fire Kalibr missiles at Ukraine again after serious damage
Ukraine’s Defense Forces struck the Russian frigate Admiral Essen — a carrier of eight Kalibr cruise missiles — during the overnight attack on Novorossiysk port on March 2, inflicting critical damage to its midsection superstructure and systems that likely prevents future missile strikes on Ukraine, an informed source in the Security Service of Ukraine told hromadske.
According to the report, as a result of the attack on the frigate:
- grenade launchers for thermal decoys and radio signal jammers exploded;
- the TK-25 electronic warfare complex, which detects radar emissions and creates jamming, was damaged;
- the ZR-90 Orekh target illumination radars, part of the ship’s air defense missile system guidance, were hit;
- the main surveillance radar Frigat-M2M, responsible for long-range detection of air and surface targets, was likely damaged.
“During the SBU operation, a dense, multi-layered enemy air defense system around Novorossiysk Bay and the port was breached. The fire on deck lasted about 18 hours — evidence of serious internal destruction and complicated work by emergency teams. The ship sustained critical damage that significantly limits its ability to use Kalibr cruise missiles. At present the frigate cannot strike Ukrainian territory,” the SBU noted.
More on the attack
Novorossiysk city head Andrey Kravchenko reported that sirens along the city’s coastline sounded overnight into March 2 due to an attack by unmanned boats. The Krasnodar Krai operational headquarters in Russia reported a UAV attack.
Following the overnight attack, Novorossiysk operated under an emergency situation regime. Firefighters extinguished a blaze at the fuel terminal. According to local authorities, the attack damaged eight apartment buildings and nine private homes, as well as a kindergarten. Seven people were injured.
To date the SBU has confirmed the following consequences of the attack:
- the sea minesweeper “Valentin Pikul” was hit, and the anti-submarine ships “Eysk” and “Kasimov” sustained serious damage;
- three Russian sailors were killed and another 14 wounded;
- the 30N6E2 guidance radar of the S-300PMU-2 Favorit complex was hit;
- the Pantsir-S2 air defense missile-gun system was hit;
- six out of seven oil-loading standers at the Shesharis oil terminal were hit.
The head of Novorossiysk, Andrey Kravchenko, reported that on the night of March 2, sirens of the warning system were turned on along the city's coastline due to an attack by unmanned boats . The operational headquarters of the Krasnodar Territory of the Russian Federation reported an attack by UAVs.
Following the overnight attack, Novorossiysk operated under a state of emergency. Firefighters extinguished a blaze at the fuel terminal. According to local authorities, the attack damaged eight apartment buildings and nine private homes, as well as a kindergarten. Seven people were injured.
To date, the SBU has confirmed the following fallout from the attack:
- the naval minesweeper Valentin Pikul was hit, the anti-submarine ships Yeysk and Kasimov suffered serious damage;
- Three Russian sailors were killed and 14 others were injured;
- the 30N6E2 guidance radar of the S-300PMU-2 Favorit complex was hit;
- the Pantsir-S2 air defense missile-gun system;
- six out of seven oil-loading standers at the Sheskharis oil terminal.