Russian frigate in Limassol for refueling, crew break

Russian frigate Admiral Essen arrived in Limassol on Thursday and is scheduled to leave the port on Saturday afternoon.

The Russian warship, based with the Black Sea Fleet at Sevastopol, is in Cyprus for refueling, Russian news agency Tass reported on Friday.

“As part of the Russian navy’s operational mission in the wider area of the eastern Mediterranean the ship will replenish supplies and refuel, while the crew will have a break and visit the historic sights in their free time,” the news agency said.

Admiral Essen, one of a number of multi-role light frigates specially designed and destined for the Black Sea, belongs to the Admiral Grigorovich category.

Ships in this category have a displacement of about 4,000 tons, a speed of 30 knots and can continuously operate for 30 days.

Admiral Essen is armed with Kalibr missiles, a Shtil-1 missile defense system, a 100mm A-190 machine gun, a defence gun, an RBU-6000 rocket launcher and torpedoes and can carry a Ka-2731 helicopter.

In May and September 2017, in the course of the Russian military campaign in Syria, Admiral Essen reportedly hit targets in Syria by launching Kalibr cruise missiles.

In August 2018, the Black Sea Fleet said the war ship, along with similar Admiral Grigorovich frigates, was making a ″planned passage from Sevastopol to the Mediterranean Sea″ to join the Russian navy’s Mediterranean task force.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.