In July 2018, the frigate took part in Russia's Main Naval Parade in St. Petersburg.[7]
On 18 August 2018, Admiral Makarov set sail from the
Baltic Sea for the
Black Sea and sailed through the
English Channel on 21 August.[8][9] She had been spotted while in transit there by
HMS Queen Elizabeth in the English Channel on 18 August during her maiden voyage.[10][11] After shadowing the British supercarrier, Admiral Makarov arrived at her permanent base in
occupiedSevastopol in early October.[12]
On 5 November 2018, the press service of the Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet announced the frigate had left Sevastopol to join the
Russian naval group in the eastern Mediterranean.[13]
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
In 2022, Admiral Makarov—along with
Admiral Essen—took part in the
Russian invasion of Ukraine, targeting a Ukrainian oil refinery and fuel depots in the suburbs of
Odesa with cruise missiles.[14]
Following the 14 April 2022 sinking of the
cruiserMoskva, Admiral Makarov assumed the role of
flagship of the Black Sea Fleet.[15]
On 29 October 2022, Admiral Makarov suffered damage during an
attack on Sevastopol by several
air and
sea drones with at least one sea drone striking the ship, reportedly disabling the radar.[20][21][22] Russian news agency
TASS reported that all the air drones had been destroyed.[23] Satellite footage from 1 November showed Admiral Grigorovich-class frigates believed to include Admiral Makarov moored in Sevastopol.[24]Naval News subsequently reported that little damage had occurred to either of the two warships that were hit by the sea drones, but that the military effect of the attack on the
protected harbor of Sevastopol exceeded the direct damage because it led to the Russian Navy going into a protective mode, "essentially locking them in port. ... New defenses were quickly added, new procedures imposed and there was much less activity. Russia’s most powerful warships in the war [were by mid-November] mostly tied up in port."[25] On 15 August 2023, Admiral Makarov returned to active duty after being damaged in the October 2022 attack.[26]
Sometime between the 1 and 3 October 2023, Admiral Makarov was transferred along with Admiral Essen from Sevastopol to
Novorossiysk,
Krasnodar Krai.[27]
^Gavrilenko, Andrei (25 February 2012).
Флоту – новый фрегат [A new frigate to the fleet]. Krasnaya Zvezda (in Russian). Archived from
the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2016.