The Russian ship ‘Moskva’ sinks while being towed to port

The flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, the ‘Moskva’, has sunk while being towed to port in the middle of the storm, the Russian Defense Minister has announced.

An explosion and fire had previously affected the missile cruiser, as Russia has acknowledged. Ukraine assures that it was as a result of one of its missiles.

Previously, the Russian Ministry of Defense had reported that the fire had been extinguished and that “the main” shipment of missiles on board had not been damaged, as Ukraine had stated.

As indicated by the Russian Defense portfolio in a statement, they have also been able to contain ammunition explosion as a result of the fire. The crew has already been evacuated and the authorities plan to tow the ship during the day.

The Ukrainian armed forces had hit the Russian flagship ‘Moskva’, a missile cruiser operating in the Black Sea.

Ukrainian military sources claim to have attacked the ship with ‘Neptune’ missiles, causing extensive damage. The Russian Ministry of Defense has reported that the warship has suffered “serious damage”, although the 510 people who were on board have been evacuated.

According to the Russian agency TASS, the Ministry of Defense affirms that after the impact of the missiles, “an intense fire” was triggered that detonated part of the ammunition.

The Russian authorities, who have not clarified the place where the ship is located or the type of ammunition, have launched an investigation to clarify the origin of the fire, as reported by the Russian newspaper ‘Kommersant’.

‘Moskva’ is the flagship of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea. She was put into operation in 1983 under the name ‘Gloria’. In 1996, the cruiser received the current name from her. The ship’s main attack armament is 16 P-1000 Vulkan missile launchers.