Ukraine says it hit four Russian warships in Novorossiysk

Ukraine’s General Staff said Ukrainian forces struck the Russian naval base at Novorossiysk overnight on August 12, 2026, damaging four Russian warships in what it described as a joint operation by Ukraine’s Defense Forces.

The General Staff identified the damaged vessels as the frigates Admiral Makarov and Admiral Essen, both Project 11356 ships, the Project 21631 small missile ship Buyan-M, and the Project 22160 patrol ship Vasily Bykov. The statement said the information was preliminary and still being confirmed. Novorossiysk, on Russia’s Black Sea coast in Krasnodar Krai, has served as a main harbor for the Russian Black Sea Fleet since Moscow relocated much of the fleet there following repeated Ukrainian strikes on its former base in Crimea.

The OSINT monitoring group exilenova+ published a broader damage assessment before the General Staff’s statement, based on satellite imagery. The group described the strike as one of the most successful Ukrainian operations against a heavily defended Russian city and identified three target areas: the NKHP grain and fuel oil terminal, the Russian naval base, and the Sheskharis oil export terminal. This assessment reflects the group’s own analysis and has not been independently verified.

At the grain terminal, exilenova+ said satellite images showed damage to grain storage facilities and transport infrastructure, including elevators. The group said NKHP is one of three major grain terminals at Novorossiysk and normally handles about 12% of Russian grain exports. It said the other two terminals, NZT and KSK, appeared undamaged in available imagery. Novorossiysk’s three grain terminals combined account for roughly 40% of Russian grain exports, according to the group, and the wider Sea of Azov and Black Sea basin handles about 80% of that trade.

The Moscow Times, citing Russian industry sources, reported that the attack halted operations at two major grain terminals at Novorossiysk. Russia is the world’s largest wheat exporter, and most of that grain moves through Black Sea ports including Novorossiysk.

At the naval base, exilenova+ said the frigate Admiral Makarov showed damage near its Kalibr cruise missile launchers and its rear superstructure, where the ship’s radar systems are mounted. The group said the frigate Admiral Essen showed damage in the same launcher area. Each frigate carries eight Kalibr launch cells. exilenova+ also listed additional vessels it said were likely hit. Those included a Project 266M minesweeper and the Project 20360 research vessel Viktor Cherokov. An unidentified Project 22160 patrol ship was also on the list.

The group said the Project 864 reconnaissance ship Priazovye may have sustained damage to its stern, but described the extent of that damage as difficult to determine from available imagery. It also reported strikes on coastal infrastructure belonging to Russia’s 4th submarine brigade. None of these additional claims, including the specific damage locations on the two frigates, have been confirmed by Ukraine’s General Staff.

At the Sheskharis oil terminal, exilenova+ said strikes hit the facility’s main berths, including Berth No. 1, which handles large Aframax and Suezmax class tankers. The group said an Aframax-class tanker was likely struck while loading, and said satellite imagery showed burn marks, firefighting foam and oil slicks in the water near the terminal.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram that Ukraine used drones, missiles and uncrewed naval vessels in the attack. Krasnodar Krai Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said the region had spent the night repelling what he described as a massive drone attack involving several hundred drones. Militarnyi, a Ukrainian outlet, said its own review of NASA’s FIRMS satellite fire-detection data showed thermal signatures at the Sheskharis terminal and near the naval base and fuel storage tanks. Militarnyi also reported that civilian buildings in Novorossiysk were damaged by the operation of Russian air defenses during the attack.

Russian authorities have not issued a public damage assessment of the strike. Ukraine’s General Staff said in its statement that Ukrainian forces are systematically reducing Russia’s ability to continue its armed aggression and that further updates would follow.