The cruiser “Moskva”, flagship of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea, had been “severely damaged” and sank while being towed. Moscow speaks of an explosion and a fire, the Ukrainian forces ensure for their part that it was hit by Neptune missile strikes.
Russia has suffered one of its biggest material setbacks since the start of the invasion of Ukraine. His cruiser Moskvaflagship of the Black Sea Fleet, has sunk, the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Thursday evening. “During the towing of the cruiser Moskva to the port of destination, the ship lost stability due to damage to the hull. In rough sea conditions, the ship sank.said the ministry, quoted by the state agency TASS.
The Russian ministry had indicated earlier in the day that the fire on board, which had been raging since Wednesday, was “circumscribed”and that the cruiser “kept its buoyancy”, while claiming to investigate the causes of the disaster. No balance sheet was provided. The Russian authorities continue, this Thursday evening, to speak of a “fire following the detonation of ammunition” to explain the damage to their main ship in the Black Sea. The Ukrainians, for their part, affirm that the Moskva was hit by missile strikes.
“Neptune missiles protecting the Black Sea caused major damage to this Russian ship“, welcomed the Ukrainian governor of the Odessa region, Maxim Marchenko. For his part, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, Oleksiï Arestovitch, declared on YouTube that “a surprise happened to the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. It burns intensely. Now. And with this rough sea, it’s impossible to know when they’ll be able to get help.“, he said, assuring that “510 crew memberswere on board.
the Moscow, A 12,490 ton ship, 180 meters long and carrying 66 officers and 419 sailors, was commissioned from the time of the Soviet Union in 1983 under the name of Slava. Equipped with sixteen P-1000 Vulcan anti-ship missile launchers as well as a variety of anti-submarine and anti-aircraft weapons, it was assigned in the second half of 2015 to the eastern Mediterranean to protect the Russian air base at Hmeimim, in Syria, according to the Tass agency.
In the early days of the invasion of Ukraine, he took part in an attack on Serpents’ Island, near the Romanian border, in which 19 Ukrainian sailors were captured to be exchanged for prisoners. Russians.
This major material setback by Russia comes at a time when the Russian army is on the verge of taking control of the strategic port of Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov, and extending its offensive in the south and east of the ‘Ukraine.
Update : at 10:45 p.m. with the announcement by the Russian Ministry of Defense that the ship had sunk.