Ukraine Says Its Domestic Weapons Damaged Four Warships at Novorossiysk

The Aug. 12 strike put Russia's last major Black Sea Fleet base within reach while sparing the Kazakh oil infrastructure Washington had asked Kyiv to protect.

Four named warships

Ukraine's General Staff said on Aug. 12 that an overnight strike damaged four Russian warships at Novorossiysk: the Project 11356 frigates Admiral Makarov and Admiral Essen, both Admiral Grigorovich-class ships; a Project 21631 Buyan-M small missile ship; and the Project 22160 patrol ship Vasily Bykov, per Kyiv Independent. The General Staff called its information preliminary and said the extent of damage was still being clarified. Russia's military has not commented publicly. These remain Ukrainian claims, not independently verified losses.

President Volodymyr Zelensky called the attack a "unique operation" conducted more than 300 kilometers behind the front. He said Ukrainian forces used Palianytsia jet drones, Neptune missiles and uncrewed naval systems against air-defense positions, piers and port infrastructure. If the ship damage is corroborated, the operation turns Novorossiysk from a threatened support hub into a site of direct naval attrition.

The OSINT group exilenova+ issued a broader satellite-based assessment. It claimed damage near the Kalibr launchers and radar areas on both frigates, and possible hits on a Project 266M minesweeper, the research vessel Viktor Cherokov and the Project 864 reconnaissance ship Priazovye. Ukraine's General Staff has not confirmed those additional claims. Russian local officials issued changing casualty totals across Krasnodar Krai, including an eight-year-old child among as many as three people killed and 24 injured. Those figures also have not been independently verified.