Warship badly damaged
That is why the “Moskva” is so important for Putin
04/14/2022, 5:55 p.m
There are different reports on the condition of the “Moskva”. One thing is clear: the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet is badly damaged. The cruiser has always been involved when Putin went to war in recent years. For Moscow, the ship also has a symbolic meaning.
The cruiser Moskva, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, was badly damaged in the conflict with Ukraine. However, it is unclear whether it has sunk, as the Ukrainian side claims. Russia denies this account.
According to an insider, the United States assumes that the fight against a fire will continue on board the “Moskva”. The warship is said to be heading for its homeport of Sevastopol, a senior US military official, who declined to be named, said. The ship had apparently suffered serious damage, the fire was probably very extensive. However, one thing is certain: the command ship is of great symbolic importance for Russia, since it was repeatedly used for diplomatic purposes in addition to its military use.
The Atlant-class missile cruiser was designed as an aircraft carrier destroyer. In 1983 it was put into operation in Soviet times under the name “Slava” (Glory). The 186 meter long warship, renamed Moskva (Moscow) in May 1995, is armed with 16 Basalt/Wulkan anti-ship missiles – the naval version of the long-range S-300 missiles – and short-range Osa missiles. It also has rocket launchers and torpedoes.
According to the Ria Nowosti news agency, the ship has undergone two major overhauls and modernizations, most recently in 2018-2020. According to the Defense Ministry, the cruiser can accommodate a 680-strong crew. The “Moskva” is stationed in Sevastopol, the base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet on the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.
The ship was used for the first time in an armed conflict in Georgia in August 2008. After Russia intervened in the Syrian war on the side of ruler Bashar al-Assad, the “Moskva” was deployed in the eastern Mediterranean between September 2015 and January 2016. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, she secured the Russian Hmeimim air force base in Syria.
“F***k you” instead of task
Since February 24, the missile cruiser has also been involved in the Russian offensive against Ukraine. At the beginning of the conflict, the ship had attacked the Ukrainian Snake Island near the Romanian border. Radio communications with the Ukrainian border guards on the island went viral: When asked to surrender, the border guards replied: “Russian warship, f**k you”. Shortly thereafter, the “Moskva” and the ship “Vasily Bykov” shelled the island, and the Ukrainian soldiers were captured.
The ship has also served diplomatic purposes for Russia in recent years: the missile cruiser was involved in the operation surrounding the Malta summit meeting between Mikhail Gorbachev and US President George Bush in December 1989, which took place on the ship “Maxim Gorki”. . The ship traveled around the world for various military maneuvers and anchored in numerous European, Asian and African ports.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also used the cruiser to receive his closest political confidants with military honours, including Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi in Sochi in August 2014 and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi during a visit to Italy.