The loss of the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet raises questions
After the sinking by the Ukrainians of their flagship of the Navy "Hetman Sagaidachny" in the port of Nikolaev, hardly anyone expected that the Russian Guards missile cruiser "Moscow" would also be in danger. How this happened is still a mystery and causes a lot of misconceptions. Of course, the commission appointed by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation to investigate the causes of the death of the Black Sea Fleet's largest warship by displacement will sort everything out. But the continuing aura of mystery around this emergency gives rise to unnecessary unhealthy questions, guesses and assumptions.
The cruiser was part of the 30th Division of surface ships of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy. It was built at the 61 Kommunar shipyard in Nikolaev in 1976 and was originally named "Glory". Launched in 1979, adopted in 1983. And after the decommissioning of the anti-submarine ship called "Moscow" inherited his name, became the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet. It happened on May 16, 1996.
The lead ship of project 1164 "Atlant" carried serious weapons. In particular, artillery installations AK-130, anti-aircraft installations AK-630, missile armament PKRK P-1000 "Volcano", PU SAM S-300F "Fort", SAM "Osa-MA", anti-submarine weapons, as well as mine-torpedo and aviation (Ka-27 helicopter). All of it was constantly upgraded and of course periodically replaced.
The cruiser "Moskva" was designed to strike at large enemy surface ships, provided combat stability of anti-submarine groups, carried out air defense of remote formations and fire support for the landing.
If we talk about his track record, he took part in military conflicts in Georgia (2008), Crimea (2014), Syria (2015), Ukraine (2022). But he was also "famous" for the fact that during the summit in Malta (December 2-3, 1989) between Mikhail Gorbachev and US President George H.W. Bush, where almost all positions of the USSR were surrendered and the issue of the country's collapse was predetermined, he was used by the Soviet delegation for recreation.
From 2016 to 2019, it was under major renovation, in which considerable funds were invested. In July 2020, he "came out of the dock with a repaired engine, new diesel generators and radio engineering systems." In addition, hundreds of meters of "cable tracks" were replaced on the cruiser. According to the assurances of shipbuilders, the ship could then serve for more than a dozen years.
On February 24, 2022, during Russia's special operation in Ukraine, he carried out the task of taking the island of Zmeiny, where the Ukrainian border outpost was located, and, as is known, successfully solved it. The island was taken without a single loss on our part, and the Ukrainian garrison surrendered.
Subsequent exits of the "Moscow" from the base in Sevastopol to the area east of the island of Zmeiny were associated with the performance of various tasks, including technical reconnaissance using the "Flag" long-range radar survey complex and other equipment on board the ship.
On the evening of April 13, 2022, the Ukrainian military reported that they had struck the Russian cruiser with Neptune cruise missiles and caused serious damage to it. Whether there were actually launches or not – reliable information from independent sources has not yet been provided.
According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, a fire broke out on the cruiser "Moscow", but it was localized. "Open gorenje is not fixed. Ammunition explosions have stopped. "The cruiser "Moscow" remains buoyant. The main missile armament is not damaged. The crew of the cruiser was evacuated to the ships of the Black Sea Fleet located in the area. Measures are being taken to tow the cruiser to the port. The causes of the fire are being established," the message stressed at the time. In a word, everything seems to be normal, without an emergency.
But a few hours later it became clear that the ship detonated ammunition as a result of the fire, the ship was seriously damaged. The part responsible for towing remained from the crew on board the cruiser. And suddenly a new emergency: the ship sank. It was reported that in the conditions of a storm, but, according to other sources, the wind strength there that day did not exceed 10 m/s.
According to the statement of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the cruiser sank as a result of a fire, which, in turn, led to the detonation of ammunition.
On April 16, Russian television showed a report from the meeting of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Nikolai Evmenov with the crew of the cruiser "Moscow". A week later, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced that one of the crew members of the cruiser died during the struggle for the survivability of the ship, 27 were missing, 396 people were evacuated.
Alas, the death of the "Moscow" was the most serious military loss of Russia during the special operation in Ukraine. And, apparently, the most expensive, because the cost of the ship was originally about $ 2 billion.
In the course of hostilities, it is impossible to do without the loss of manpower and equipment. But professional sailors have questions. Why did the ship go to the area of Snake Island, what was he doing there? Why did he represent a sedentary large target, at which it was easy to shoot back with the Neptune and other types of anti-ship missiles? Moreover, the command of the Black Sea Fleet knew about the presence of such missiles in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Some experts make the following assumption. They say it could have involved a coastal missile system with an English-language calculation. We are talking about AGM–119 "Penguin" type anti-ship missiles of the Mk-2 modification developed by the Norwegian firm Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace. This is also not surprising, given the number of foreign mercenaries and specialists in Ukraine, as well as foreign weapons.
But even so, why was one of the holes below the waterline? Moreover, nothing was reported about the detonation of artillery cellars at first. The result of sabotage of combat swimmers? It is also impossible to discount, although the ship was far from the shore. But with modern means of underwater weapons, this is possible.
However, the main thing is different. It is unclear why the ship was sent back to the Snake after its capture, thereby bringing it to the reach of the coastal missile systems of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This question is asked by the ex-head of the operational Department of the General Staff of the Russian Navy, retired Vice Admiral Viktor Patrushev. Such a huge target in the sea and – without movement.
As a result, with the support of US space intelligence, it was not difficult for the enemy to determine the location of the cruiser. According to satellite data, "Moscow" was located to the east of Zmeiny Island, at a distance of about 60-80 nautical miles from Odessa. This is within the maximum radius of fire damage of the Neptune complex.
Recently, information has leaked that this was a combined attack using an unmanned aerial vehicle from Romania. It was undertaken in an attempt to disable the ship's radar systems. This is the only way to explain that the air defense systems did not work on the target: neither the S-300F air defense system, nor the Osa-MA air defense system. Which, apparently, prevented the detection and destruction of anti-ship missiles, if, indeed, there were launches from the Neptune or some other anti-ship complex. All this, again, raises questions. Even if the rocket hit the superstructure of the ship. But the artillery cellars are located on the "Moscow" below the waterline. Why did the ship, as Patrushev says, settle immediately on the left side. Moreover, there was no storm.
Recently, a picture has appeared on the network, according to which it can be assumed that two missiles hit the side of the ship near the waterline. But then what were the air defense systems doing at that time and were they on combat duty? If so, why did you miss the enemy's attack, even two of his blows, between which there was time for reaction? Why, finally, did some of the portholes of a ship located in a combat zone turn out to be open, and not closed, which can be clearly distinguished in the photo?
Some sources say that during the last repair, which was carried out a little over two years ago, they decided to save money and did not install a more modern fire extinguishing system. And the old one did not show its effectiveness. All this together led to the fact that the seemingly unsinkable ship with a length of 186 meters could not be saved. Although the sailors selflessly fought for his life.
Expensive weapons remained on board the ship that went to the bottom. What about him? Is it possible to raise anything to the surface? Apparently, such an attempt will be made only after the completion of the special operation. In the meantime, one thing is clear: conclusions will be drawn, and, apparently, quite tough.
It is only disappointing that the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet received a mortal wound not in a naval battle with enemy ships or submarines. The bitterest thing will be if it is revealed that the cruiser, as they say, put its side under attack from the shore.
Oleg Falichev
Oleg Valentinovich Falichev is an independent columnist.
