Russia-Ukraine War: Russian Warship Moskva Sinks In Black Sea

Russia’s Soviet-era missile cruiser Moskva fell on Thursday after a fire onboard in response to a missile assault launched by Ukraine. According to media accounts, the cause was damage caused by an explosion of ammunition on board, as stated by the Russian defence ministry. In addition, while being hauled to port, the crippled flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet sank owing to rough seas.

About Moskva

A 510-crew missile cruiser was leading the naval attack against Ukraine as a signal of Russia’s military might.

Kiev believes that one of its missiles hit the ship, which was a symbol of Russia’s military might and was leading Russia’s naval attack on Ukraine. According to sources citing a Russian statement, the whole crew was evacuated after the warship’s munitions exploded.

According to sources citing a Russian statement, the whole crew was evacuated after the warship’s munitions exploded. Russia’s defence ministry later confirmed that the ship, which was still afloat, had sunk.

The 12,490-tonne Moskva is the largest Russian cruiser sunk in action after WWII.

This ship has a displacement of 12,490 tonnes and is named after Russia’s capital. It was first commissioned in 1983 as the Slava and recommissioned in 2000 as the Moskva. It was equipped with refurbished weapon systems and electronics. This ship was built in Mykolaiv, Ukraine’s southernmost city, which has been brutally attacked by Russians in recent weeks.

The Moskva was allegedly targeted by Ukrainian-made Neptune missiles, according to Ukrainian military officials. According to rumours, this weapon was developed following the takeover of Crimea in 2014, as well as to defend against naval threats in the Black Sea.

Moskva’s major mission when it was deployed was to provide air defence support to other ships in Russia’s Black Sea fleet. Ukrainian officials claimed on Wednesday that they had successfully hit a Russian ship off the coast of Odessa with a missile attack.

Both sides claimed to have attacked it with two Neptune anti-ship cruise missiles, with Russia claiming that fire generated by ammunition onboard caused the explosions and the Ukrainians claiming to have hit it with two Neptune anti-ship cruise missiles.

This missile is based on the Russian Kh-35 cruise missile design. This missile is known as the AS-20 Kayak in NATO. This guided missile cruiser had previously been deployed in the Syrian conflict to provide naval support to Russian forces in the nation.

After six years of development, the Neptune Missile system was integrated into the Ukrainian Defense Forces in March 2021 to combat the danger in coastal areas. It has a range of 300 kilometres and is capable of destroying naval vessels.