IRIA News

The Russian Navy’s flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, the missile cruiser ‘Moskva’ was damaged due to an internal explosion on April 13, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

Russian Defense Ministry stated that the ship was being towed back to the port when ‘stormy seas’ caused the ship to sink. However, Ukraine claims that its missile hit the Russian warship which later caused the ship to sink.

Russian Defense Ministry released a statement that the ship sustained heavy damage due to a fire onboard that exploded internal ammunition of the warship resulting in severe damage.

“During the towing of the Moskva cruiser to the designation port, the ship lost stability due to hull damage, sustained during the detonation of ammunition because of a fire. Amid the heavy storm, the ship sank,” the Ministry said.

Russian Ministry’s statement also mentioned that all crew members were successfully rescued from the Moskva and transferred to a nearby fleet ship. At the time of the sinking, there were no crew members on board.

According to the statement, “A fire onboard the Moskva missile cruiser caused a blast of the broadside munitions. The ship received serious damage.” However, the Russian Ministry of Defense statement stressed that the ship’s crew was evacuated to other Black Sea Fleet ships in the area.

The Ukrainian military officials on the other hand stated that they struck Moskva with an indigenously produced Neptune missile on April 13. The officials also claimed that at least 510 crew members would be on board when their missile hit the ship, however, they could not confirm any deaths.

The Ukrainian military’s Operation Command South claimed that Moskva began to sink right after it was hit by the Ukrainian missile. According to the statement released by the Ukrainian military, “In the Black Sea operational zone, Neptune anti-ship cruise missiles hit the cruiser Moskva, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, it received significant damage. A fire broke out, other units of the ship’s group tried to help, but a storm and a powerful explosion of ammunition overturned the cruiser and it began to sink.”

None of the two different accounts of the event could yet be confirmed by any third party. After being asked about the details of the incident, Pentagon’s Press Secretary John Kirby stated that “We are not in a position to officially confirm independently what exactly led to the ship’s sinking. But we’re also not in any position to refute the Ukrainian side of this. It’s certainly plausible and possible that they did in fact hit this with a Neptune missile or maybe more.”

Moskva was the flagship of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea. On the first day of the Russian invasion, Moskva was tasked to gain control of a small Ukrainian garrison on the Snake Island. Moskva’s name made it to the news headlines after a radio conversation between Ukrainian and Russian troops made rounds on the internet during its operation on the Snake Island. 

Originally built during the Soviet era as a lead ship of Project 1164, Moskva was first commissioned into the Russian navy in 1983 under the name of Slava (Glory). The name of the ship was later changed to Moskva in 1996 after the name of the Russian capital city, Moscow. The ship was 611 feet long and cruised at the speeds of 32 knots (37 mph). The ship was equipped with P-500 Bazalt Vulkan anti-ship missiles.

The Neptune missile, which the Ukrainian military claims to be the reason behind Moskva’s sinking, is a 5 meters long anti-ship cruise missile that weighs around 870 kilograms and carries a High Explosive Fragmentation warhead.

According to many western analysts, Moskva had been a thorn in the eyes of the Ukrainian military since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February. The sinking of a ship that was named after the Russian capital would be a morale booster for the Ukrainians, western experts claim.