The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that the Fregat upper stage with a military satellite was launched on Thursday from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome by a Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket.

"The payload assembly of the Soyuz-2.1b medium-lift launch vehicle as part of the Fregat upper stage and the spacecraft launched in the interest of the Russian Ministry of Defense, at the estimated time - 04:18 a.m. Moscow time - normally separated from the third stage of the Soyuz 2.1b launch vehicle," the Ministry said.

According to the Ministry, the Fregat upper stage will take several hours to launch the satellite into the calculated orbit.

A Russian Space Forces combat crew launched the Soyuz-2.1b rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk Region on November 25.

Russia has successfully launched the Progress M-UM spacecraft. The modified Progress spacecraft will deliver a new docking port to the International Space Station. This stunning footage shows the business end of the Soyuz-2.1b at full power! Credit: Roscosmos pic.twitter.com/ve6frlfTXs

— Rocket Rundown (@RocketRundown) November 24, 2021

In 2004, test flights of Soyuz-2 rockets, which replaced Soyuz-U carrier vehicles, began from Plesetsk. From 1973 to 2012, 435 Soyuz-U rockets were launched from Plesetsk.