Russia’s Black Sea flagship suffers serious damage after being hit by missiles, Ukraine says

Russian Navy’s Slava-class guided-missile cruiser Moskva has been hit by anti-ship missiles, after which it sustained serious damage, Ukrainian Armed Forces said.

Slava-class cruiser Moskva, the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, was reportedly hit by Ukrainian missiles on 13 April. Odesa governor Maksym Marchenko said in a Telegram message that “Neptune missiles guarding the Black Sea caused very serious damage to the Russian ship.”

Following Ukraine’s claims that the ship was hit by missiles, the Russian Ministry of Defence confirmed that a fire broke out on the vessel causing a subsequent broadside munitions blast. Russian state media also reported that the ship suffered damage and the crew is now evacuated.

Slava-class crusier Moskva is the lead vessel of Project 1164 Atlant. The ship was commissioned in 1983 and is one of the three Slava-class cruisers. The second vessel in the class, Marshal Ustinov, conducted anti-submarine drills in the Norwegian Sea in January this year.

Moskva is not the first Russian warship to be damaged by Ukrainian military forces. Last month, the Ukrainian officials revealed that the Russian Navy’s landing ship Orsk was destroyed in the port city of Berdyansk.