Ukraine's Defence Intelligence strikes Kalibr missile carrier Admiral Essen again: details of Novorossiysk attack
Ukraine's Defence Intelligence (DIU) has reported that on the night of 8-9 September, operators from its Active Operations Department, as part of a joint deep-strike operation with other components of Ukraine's defence forces, struck infrastructure at the Russian naval base in Novorossiysk, as well as the Russian Project 11356 frigate Admiral Essen.
Source: Defence Intelligence of Ukraine
Details: The DIU reported that the strikes caused a fire on the superstructure of the Admiral Essen.
The Admiral Essen is a carrier of Kalibr cruise missiles, which Russia regularly uses to attack civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
Ukraine's defence forces have struck the missile carrier on several previous occasions.
On the night of 1-2 March 2026, the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) and Ukraine's defence forces struck the Russian frigate. At the time, a Ukrainska Pravda source in the SSU said that the damaged vessel was unable to launch Kalibr missiles.
In August, Ukraine's Defence Intelligence and defence forces also struck the Russian missile carriers Admiral Essen and Admiral Makarov, as well as the patrol ship Vasily Bykov.
Background:
- On the night of 8-9 September, monitoring Telegram channels reported that drones had attacked Novorossiysk, causing a fire at a fuel oil terminal.
- The mayor of Novorossiysk confirmed that a fire had broken out but claimed it had been caused by falling debris. He did not name the facility that had been attacked or provide details about the extent of the damage or possible casualties.
- OSINT analysts reported that facilities at the port complex had been struck, damaging at least one tank at the Novorossiysk fuel oil terminal.
- The terminal is one of the key facilities of the Novorossiysk transport hub and forms part of the Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port, Russia's largest port by cargo turnover.
- On the morning of 9 September, Robert "Magyar" Brovdi, Commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, confirmed that the naval base in Novorossiysk, Russia's Krasnodar Krai, had been struck overnight.
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