Buyan-M Class Ship and the Frigate Admiral Essen Have Been Put Out of Commission in Novorossiysk – Photos

Satellite images show that the Project 21631 Buyan-M small missile ship and the frigate Admiral Essen, which carry Kalibr cruise missiles and are based in Novorossiysk, have been disabled.

The OSINT project Exilenova+ published the images.

The released images likely show the aftermath of a Neptune anti-ship missile strike on the Russian frigate, whose destruction was reported on September 9 by the Ukrainian Navy. It is currently unknown what struck the Buyan-M.

The Admiral Essen is a Project 11356R frigate, while the Buyan-M is a Project 21631 small missile and artillery ship. Both ships are equipped with Kalibr cruise missiles.

The ships carry 3S14 universal vertical launchers capable of carrying eight missiles. These launchers also allow for the deployment of Onyx anti-ship missiles.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported on the attack in Novorossiysk on August 12.

At that time, the Admiral Essen, the frigate Admiral Makarov, the small missile ship Buyan-M, and the patrol ship Vasyl Bykov sustained damage of varying degrees.

During the attack, the Defense Forces used strike UAVs, Palianytsia jet drones, Neptune missiles, and maritime unmanned platforms.

This is not the first time that ships of the Buyan-M class have been damaged.

In June 2022, one of them—presumably the Veliky Ustyug—was spotted being towed along the Volga River, and in April 2024, the Serpukhov was disabled by an arson attack in Baltiysk.

Ukrainian intelligence operatives struck another Buyan-M in the Sea of Azov in 2025. An unmanned aerial vehicle damaged the ship’s radar station, after which DIU special forces attacked the vessel.

Novorossiysk became the main base of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet after Ukrainian strikes forced the occupiers to relocate a significant portion of their ships from the temporarily occupied Crimea.