The missile cruiser "Moscow" was seriously damaged after the detonation of ammunition. The cause was a fire on the ship, RIA Novosti reports with reference to the Russian Defense Ministry.
Russian Defense Ministry
According to the representative of the department, the crew of the ship was completely evacuated. The cause of the fire will be determined later and is still unknown.
The cruiser was involved in a special operation
Kommersant writes that the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet was involved in a special operation in Ukraine. In particular, it was used in the attack on the Snake Island. At that time, the Russian Defense Ministry did not officially disclose the name of the ship, but RIA Novosti reported this.
The missile cruiser Moskva is the lead ship of Project 1164 Atlant and is part of the 30th Division of surface ships of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy. The ship was built at the Nikolaev Shipyard under the name "Glory", however, after the decommissioning of the anti-submarine cruiser "Moscow" in 1996, it inherited its name. He joined the fleet in 1982.
The cruiser is designed to strike large surface ships and provides combat stability of anti-submarine groups. In addition, it is used for landing fire support.
In 2018, the decision to stop using the cruiser was discussed, but the Navy said that there was no talk of decommissioning. At that time, it was undergoing extensive repairs and modernization, during which the main power plant was overhauled, diesel generators and radio systems were replaced.
13th Ship Repair plant of the Black Sea Fleet of Russia
After the repair, in 2021, for the first time in the modern history of Russia, the cruiser fired missiles in the Black Sea with the main missile system of the P-1000 Vulkan ship.
On board the cruiser, in addition to the P-1000 anti-ship missile system, the S-300F Fort SAM, the Osa-MA SAM, RBU-6000 rocket launchers, AK-130 naval guns and AK-630 naval automatic artillery installations are installed.
The cruiser "Moscow" was considered one of the most powerful ships of the Russian Navy
Military expert Dmitry Boltenkov believes that the missile cruiser "Moscow" is the most powerful ship of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy. According to him, his anti-ship missiles can launch any watercraft to the bottom, and the ship also has long-range S-300F Fort complexes that allow for zonal air defense.
Missile cruisers of the Atlant project are a series of multi—purpose missile cruisers with guided missile weapons of the far sea and oceanic zone. The construction of the project's cruisers was carried out from 1976 to 1993. Their displacement is 11,490 tons, length — 186 meters, speed — 32 knots, crew — 500 people.
Of the cruisers built at the moment, three are part of the Russian Navy: "Moscow", "Marshal Ustinov" in the Northern Fleet and "Varyag" in the Pacific Fleet.