Strike on "Naro-Fominsk": three drone hits, with fatalities and injuries reported – Kalmus, deputy commander of division of Estonian Defence Forces
The Russian small missile vessel ‘Naro-Fominsk’ was struck more than three times by Ukrainian drones in the Gulf of Finland. There are fatalities and injuries amongst the crew, and the damaged vessel was unable to reach St Petersburg under its own power.
According to Censor.NET, citingERR, this was reported by Aron Kalmus, deputy commander of a division of the Estonian Defence Forces.
"It was struck by a significant number of drones. We know quite precisely how many. I won’t go into details, as I wouldn’t want to make the enemy’s job any easier by revealing what we can see and how. But it was hit by more than one drone, which would be a coincidence for the army. More than two would be a coincidence for the army. And more than three would already be a pattern," said Kalmus.
The colonel confirmed that, as a result of several hits, the ship sustained damage, and there were fatalities and injuries amongst the crew. Initially, the vessel set course for St Petersburg under its own power, but subsequently came to a halt. It required an additional escort vessel to continue its journey.
What led up to this?
On the night of 11 November, the SBU, together with other components of the Defence Forces, struck port, oil and transport infrastructure facilities in the port of Ust-Luga in Russia’s Leningrad Oblast. A small missile vessel of the "Buyan-M" class, named "Naro-Fominsk", was also struck.
The ‘Naro-Fominsk’ missile corvette: what is known?
The "Naro-Fominsk" is a Project 21631 "Buyan-M" small missile ship, which forms part of the Russian Navy’s Baltic Fleet. Launched in 2022, it entered service in 2023.
The vessel is designed to engage maritime and land-based targets. It is equipped with multi-purpose launchers capable of firing "Kalibr" cruise missiles and "Onyx" anti-ship missiles. This enables it to strike targets at considerable ranges, including within Ukraine.
