Consequences for future use
USA: “Moskva” collapse is “heavy blow” for Kremlin
04/15/2022, 03:15 am
The missile cruiser Moscow has played a key role in Russia’s efforts to establish “naval dominance in the Black Sea,” a US government spokesman says. It is still unclear whether the ship sank as a result of an explosion on board or a Ukrainian attack.
The Russian warship Moskva, badly damaged in the Ukraine war, has sunk. This was announced by the Ministry of Defense in Moscow. While the missile cruiser was being towed towards a port, it lost its “balance” and sank in heavy seas. The “Moskva” was the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. The US government described the ship’s sinking as a “major blow” to the Russian Navy.
Just a few hours before the Moskva sank, the Russian Ministry of Defense had declared that the fire on board was under control and that the ship was buoyant. Hundreds of crew members of the missile-equipped cruiser were said to have been taken to other Russian ships in the Black Sea.
Regarding the causes of the damage to the Moscow, the Russian Ministry of Defense repeated its statement in the evening that ammunition on board had exploded. The fuselage was damaged by the fire that followed. This then led to the sinking of the “Moskva”.
“Moskva” blocked Mariupol
The Moscow Defense Ministry did not comment on Thursday evening how the explosion was triggered. It had previously stated that it was investigating the cause of the detonation. The spokesman for the Ukrainian army in the port city of Odessa, Sergey Brachuk, had announced that the “Moskva” had been hit by Ukrainian “Neptun”-type missiles. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy alluded to the sunken Russian warship in a video address early this morning, praising all those “who have shown that Russian ships…can get to the bottom.” The sinking of the “Moskva” is one of the largest material losses for the Russian army since the start of the military operation against Ukraine on February 24.
US Defense Department spokesman John Kirby said the sinking of the Moscow River would have “consequences” for the Russian Navy’s operational capabilities in the region. The missile-equipped cruiser played a “key role” in Russia’s efforts to establish “naval dominance in the Black Sea,” Kirby told US broadcaster CNN. The “Moskva” built in Soviet times, together with other ships of the Black Sea Fleet, had blocked the southern Ukrainian port of Mariupol.