Flagship Black Sea Fleet
Ukraine War: Russian missile cruiser Moskva sunk
A Russian sailor (l) salutes at the bow of the missile cruiser “Moskva”. Photo: Pavel Golovkin/AP/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Hit and sunk? Just a fire on board and then sunk in a storm? Russia has now acknowledged the loss of the pride of the Black Sea Fleet, the missile cruiser Moskva.
The stricken Russian missile cruiser Moskva has sunk, according to Russian sources.
The flagship of the Black Sea Fleet went down during a storm on Thursday while being towed to its destination, the state agency TASS reported on Thursday evening, citing the Russian Defense Ministry. Towing became necessary because the ship lost stability due to damage to the hull, which was damaged during a fire caused by munitions detonation. “The ship sank in stormy seas,” it said.
Ukrainian military officials had previously reported that the ship was hit by an anti-ship missile. On Thursday night, the Russian side said that the crew of the ship had been completely evacuated to other Black Sea Fleet ships in the area after a fire.
Pentagon reluctant to draw conclusions
A senior US defense official said Thursday in Washington it was not yet clear what caused the damage to the missile cruiser. It is believed that the ship was 60 to 65 nautical miles south of the Ukrainian city of Odessa when the explosion occurred. “At the moment we cannot say definitively what caused this explosion and subsequent fire.” It could be due to a missile attack, but there could also be other reasons.
The danger of fires and explosions on such ships is generally high because they have flammable and explosive material on board, he stressed. It is therefore important to be careful when drawing conclusions. “We believe a fire is still being fought on the ship,” the official said. The cruiser is currently moving east, presumably towards Sevastopol for repairs. Finally, the ship was still able to move under its own power. The defense official said several other Russian ships previously operating near the Moscow River in the northern Black Sea have been moved further south, according to US intelligence.