Novorossiysk hit as Ukraine targets two Russian warships with drones
Ukrainian Armed Forces targeted the frigate Admiral Essen (photo: Russian media)
Ukrainian forces carried out a drone strike on a naval base in Novorossiysk on the night of May 23, hitting two ships of Russia's Black Sea Fleet — the frigate Admiral Essen and a Project 1239 hovercraft missile ship, reports the Magyar's Birds of Unmanned Systems Forces.
The Unmanned Systems Forces reports that the strike zone at the Novorossiysk naval base in Russia's Krasnodar region included the Project 11356 frigate Admiral Essen and a Project 1239 hovercraft missile ship.
The extent of damage to both vessels was not specified.
"You are doomed to sink one day, you rust bucket — you can't hide," the unit team wrote.
Two oil terminals in the Novorossiysk area — Sheskharis and Grushova — were also hit. The Unmanned Systems Forces describes the latter as the largest petroleum storage site in the Caucasus, with a capacity of 1.2 million tons.
The unit added that other targets were also struck the same night, including a rear base and logistics hub of Russia's 6th Air and Air Defense Army in the settlement of Rovenky in the Luhansk region, a drone command post in Oleshky in the Kherson region, and fuel tankers and armored vehicles in the temporarily occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia region.
#Ukraine strikes a naval base in #Novorossiysk overnight on May 23 pic.twitter.com/ZYxbyrhu0W
— RBC-Ukraine (@NewsUkraineRBC) May 23, 2026
Also, the unit said it destroyed an Osa surface-to-air missile system in Donetsk.
Units of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces were involved in the deep-strike operations, including the 414th Separate Brigade Magyar's Birds and the 412th Brigade NEMESIS.
Earlier, on the night of May 7, Ukraine's Defense Forces struck a small missile ship of Project 22800 Karakurt — a Kalibr cruise missile carrier — near the Caspian Sea port of Kaspiysk in Dagestan.
In addition, on the night of April 5, drones had already attacked Novorossiysk when a fire broke out near the Sheskharis terminal.
Bloomberg later reported that after that strike, the terminal was idle for five days, contributing to a drop in Russia's seaborne oil exports to their lowest level in eight months.
