Ship can no longer fire Kalibr missiles at Ukraine - SBU sources on strike against frigate Admiral Essen

The frigate Admiral Essen, struck during an SBU and Defense Forces attack on the port of Novorossiysk in the early hours of March 2, sustained critical damage that significantly limits its ability to deploy Kalibr cruise missiles, an SBU source told Interfax-Ukraine.

The source briefed the agency on Thursday on details of the strike against the Admiral Essen, which is a carrier of eight Kalibr cruise missiles.

"The strike hit the ship’s mid-section superstructure. As a result, grenade launchers for firing thermal decoys and radio signal dispersers exploded, and the TK-25 electronic warfare system, which detects radar emissions and creates jamming, was damaged," the source said.

In addition, according to the source, the ZR-90 Oryekh target illumination radars, which are part of the guidance system for the ship’s air defense missile complex, were struck, and the main Fregat-M2M surveillance radar responsible for long-range detection of air and surface targets was likely damaged.

"The ship sustained critical damage that significantly limits its ability to deploy Kalibr cruise missiles. The frigate is currently unable to strike Ukrainian territory," the source said.

The source added that during the operation the SBU penetrated the dense, multi-layered enemy air defense system around Novorossiysk bay and port. A fire on deck burned for around 18 hours, indicating serious internal destruction and difficulties for damage control teams.