Why did the «Moskva» sink? The stricken “Moskva” sank during a storm on Thursday when the warship was to be towed to its destination, the state agency TASS reported, citing the Russian Ministry of Defense. Towing became necessary because the ship lost stability due to damage to the hull, which was damaged during a “munitions detonation fire”. There was no information on the cause of the fire. Ukraine previously reported that the badly damaged flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet had sunk. Neither statement can be verified independently. One thing is clear: the “Moskva” has sunk.
What was the cause of the explosion on board? According to information from Kyiv, the warship was hit by two Ukrainian anti-ship missiles of the Neptun type. A senior US Department of Defense official has since backed this version. “We can confirm that the Russian ship Moskva was hit by two Ukrainian Neptun missiles,” Washington said on Friday evening. On Thursday, the ministry was still reluctant to make an assessment. Russia, on the other hand, speaks of an “incident”. The flagship of the Black Sea Fleet was badly damaged by “munitions detonated as a result of a fire”.
What do Russian sources say?: According to earlier reports, the United States assumed that the fire was being fought all day on board the “Moskva”. The Russian Ministry of Defense first denied this and emphasized that the ship was still seaworthy despite massive damage. Meanwhile, Moscow has also confirmed that the ship has sunk.
How important was the «Moskva» for the Russian Navy? “This is the second heavy loss of the Russian Navy in this war,” says security expert Mauro Mantovani. This loss is also heavier than that of the sinking of a landing ship in the port of Berdyansk. “The ‘Moskva’ was the flagship and that’s a moral blow to the Russian Navy.” Among other things, it is said to have been involved in the conquest of the Ukrainian island of snakes at the beginning of the war.