Russian warship Moskva has sunk, says defence ministry

Moscow: Russian warship Moskva, the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet that Ukraine claimed to have hit with two missiles, has sunk, Russia’s defence ministry said on Thursday.

The head of the Odesa Regional Defense and Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said the missile cruiser Moskva was hit and on fire following two Neptune missile strikes. Russia confirmed the ship has been damaged, saying a fire on board detonated ammunition.

Later, Russia said that Moskva was being towed to port when “stormy seas” caused it to sink, according to a ministry message. The missile cruiser “Moskva”, which was damaged due to the detonation of ammunition, sank during towing, the Defense Ministry said.

“During the towing of the Moskva cruiser to the port of destination, due to damage to the hull received during the fire from the detonation of ammunition, the ship lost stability. In the conditions of stormy seas, the ship sank,” the military department said.

On the night of April 14, the Ministry of Defense reported that a fire had started on the Moskva cruiser, causing the ammunition to detonate. The crew was completely evacuated.

At the same time, the main missile armament was not damaged, the source of ignition was localized and the ship remained buoyant, the ministry said. The 510-crew vessel was a symbol of Russia’s military power, and has led Russia’s naval assault on Ukraine.

Kyiv claims it struck the warship with its missiles, but Moscow has made no mention of an attack. Ukrainian military officials said they struck the Moskva with a Ukrainian-made Neptune missile – a weapon designed after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, and the naval threat to Ukraine in the Black Sea grew.

Originally built in Ukraine in the Soviet-era, the Moskva entered service in the early 1980s according to Russian media. The missile cruiser was previously deployed by Moscow in the Syria conflict where it supplied Russian forces in the country with naval protection.

It carries over a dozen Vulkan anti-ship missiles and an array of anti-submarine and mine-torpedo weapons, the reports said. The Moskva is the second major Russian ship known to have been severely damaged since the invasion began.