Readers, meet the “Moskva,” flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet:
The Russian Cruiser ‘Moskva’ Dominates The Black Sea https://t.co/myLSO5MF6m pic.twitter.com/mBIpRjehmp
— Forbes (@Forbes) April 13, 2022
Readers, now say goodbye to the “Moskva” as both Russian and Ukrainian sources are confirming serious damage to the ship but we’re still unsure just how that damage occurred. Ukraine claims it was hit with two missiles:
🔺 NEW: The flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet was hit and seriously damaged by two Ukrainian missiles, officials in Odesa claimed last night https://t.co/yy9ca0hw4i
— The Times (@thetimes) April 14, 2022
But Russia is only saying a fire on the Slava-class cruiser caused ammunition to explode, leading to the evacuation of the ship:
The Kremlin confirmed early this morning that the Moskva, a Slava-class cruiser with approximately 510 sailors, had sustained damage and its entire crew had been evacuated off the port of Odesa
— The Times (@thetimes) April 14, 2022
So, which is a better narrative for Russia: Incompetence on board or a Ukraine missile attack?
Moscow claimed the Moskva, armed with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles, torpedoes and naval guns, had suffered an “ammunition explosion” pic.twitter.com/E2aYivp0En
— The Times (@thetimes) April 14, 2022
The Governor of Odessa claimed missiles from a hidden battery struck the ship:
But the governor of Odesa claimed the ship had been hit by two Neptune anti-ship missiles launched by Ukrainian naval forces last night.
The battery was hidden in or around the Ukrainian port city, which has previously been bombarded from the sea by Russia pic.twitter.com/o6de6660Fu
— The Times (@thetimes) April 14, 2022
Whatever happened, this is major loss for Russia:
I'm no military historian, but I have to believe this is the first major naval power to lose a flagship to a country without a navy
— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) April 14, 2022
Yep:
starting to think the original projections of a 3-day cakewalk by the invincible Russian military machine were somewhat amiss
— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) April 14, 2022
Russia claims there were no casualties:
The Russian defence ministry did not confirm the attack and issued a terse statement this morning suggesting there there had been no casualties
— The Times (@thetimes) April 14, 2022
And:
“A fire broke out on the cruiser Moskva resulting in an ammunition explosion. The ship sustained serious damage. The entire crew has been evacuated,” it said
— The Times (@thetimes) April 14, 2022
The Neptune missile system only became operational last year:
The Neptune is a Ukrainian weapon, based on the Soviet KH-35 cruise missile.
It became operational in the Ukrainian forces just last year and if confirmed, the strike would mark the first time the weapon has been used since the invasionhttps://t.co/PCIXOZTTHO
— The Times (@thetimes) April 14, 2022
The Moskva is an older ship but it was considered “the pride of the Russian naval fleet in the Black Sea”:
The 611ft-long Moskva is the pride of the Russian naval fleet in the Black Sea. Originally commissioned into the Soviet navy as the Slava in the 1980s, it was renamed Moskva in 1995 and after a refit re-entered service in 1998 pic.twitter.com/7ZjTlMJvZn
— The Times (@thetimes) April 14, 2022
“Losing the warship would be a ‘massive blow” for Russia”:
Alessio Patalano, professor of war and strategy at King’s College London, said losing the warship would be a “massive blow” for Russia pic.twitter.com/aLVTiFPx2Z
— The Times (@thetimes) April 14, 2022
Of note, Russian state media *is* reporting that the ship was “seriously damaged”:
🇷🇺 The Russian state media outlets Tass and RIA, citing the Russian defence ministry, had reported earlier that the Moskva had been seriously damaged in the incident and that the cause of the fire was being investigated pic.twitter.com/DeWW7AiIlY
— The Times (@thetimes) April 14, 2022
And this is the same ship that fired on the guards during the now infamous Snake Island incident at the start of the war:
🇺🇦Maksym Marchenko, the regional governor in Odesa, said in a statement on the Telegram messaging service:
“It has been confirmed that the missile cruiser Moskva today went exactly where it was sent by our border guards on Snake Island!”https://t.co/nVracrOkMR
— The Times (@thetimes) April 14, 2022
The rest of the story here:
🇺🇦“Neptune missiles guarding the Black Sea caused very serious damage to the Russian ship. Glory to Ukraine!”
Read the full story 👇https://t.co/yy9ca0hw4i
— The Times (@thetimes) April 14, 2022
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