Russia has suffered one of its biggest material setbacks since the start of the invasion of Ukraine. The cruiser Moskva, flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, was “severely damaged” by an explosion of its ammunition according to Moscow, by a Ukrainian missile attack according to kyiv.
“Due to a fire, ammunition exploded on board”, and the crew was completely evacuated, assured the ministry, adding that an investigation was underway to determine the origin of this fire.
The Ukrainian authorities claimed for their part that the Moskva had been hit by missiles. “Neptune missiles protecting the Black Sea have caused significant damage to this Russian ship,” said Ukrainian governor of the Odessa region (south), Maxime Marchenko. kyiv speaks of a crew of more than 500 men.
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The Moskva was commissioned from the time of the Soviet Union in 1983 and participated in the Russian intervention in Syria from 2015. In the early days of the invasion of Ukraine, it took part in a attack on Serpents’ Island, near the Romanian border, during which 19 Ukrainian sailors were captured to be later exchanged for Russian prisoners.
