What is the cruiser Moskva, the flagship of the Russian navy, which was disabled by a Ukrainian attack

Russia confirmed that the crew of the flagship of its Black Sea fleet was evacuated on Thursday and that steps were being taken to try to tow the ship back to port, following an explosion of ammunition on board that Ukraine proclaimed was caused by a missile attack.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that the fire of the Soviet-era missile cruiser Moskva had been controlled, but that the ship had been badly damaged. He did not acknowledge that the ship had been attacked and said that the cause of the fire was being investigated.

The military command of southern Ukraine said that it had hit the warship with a Ukrainian-made Neptune anti-ship missile and that it had begun to sink.

The loss or disuse of Moskva would be another setback for Russia, on the 50th day of its war in Ukraine, as it prepares for a new assault on the eastern Dombas region that would likely define the outcome of the conflict.

Its disuse may well be seen as one of the boldest attacks in modern naval history, and one of the biggest losses in the sector since the sinking of the General Belgrano Cruiser, attacked by British forces in 1982 in the Malvinas War.

“Moskva” began operations in the Soviet era in 1983 and participated in the Russian intervention in Syria from 2015. Its great military value lies in the fact that it functioned as a platform for air defense and the bombardment of ground targets with missiles. Especially in these weeks when Russia has focused its offensive on southern Ukraine.

Also, it will be impossible to replace for this conflict, since the only passage to the Black Sea is through the Bosphorus, but Turkey has closed the passage of the strait to military traffic.

Early reports from the Russian Navy indicated that the crew that survived the attack had been evacuated, so there was no one left on board to carry out damage control of the fire.

Russian news agencies said it was armed with 16 anti-ship Vulkan cruise missiles with a range of at least 700 kilometers, but the Russian authorities say that “the main missile armament has not been damaged”, so they could be used in the future.

Ukraine did not delay in celebrating the attack. “The Neptune missiles guarding the Black Sea caused very serious damage to the Russian ship. Glory to Ukraine! ” Governor Maksym Marchenko wrote in Telegram. An adviser to the Ukrainian President, Oleksiy Arestovich, indicated that the ship “had a surprise” and stressed “right now it burns strongly.”

Early reports indicated that the attack took place during a storm, which helped to hide preparations on the ground.

But they also point out that there was a remarkable distraction maneuver, taking advantage of a weak point of the ship.

The vessel has a single air defense radar with one key feature: its rotating field of view is 180 degrees. Although it is complemented by others, less far-reaching, its task would have been hampered by the storm.

Thus, reports suggest that Ukraine would have used a Bayraktar TB-2 drone to distract Moskva and make its best radar point in the opposite direction to allow the free passage of Neptune missiles.

Moskva staged one of the first prominent clashes of the war, when Ukrainian border guards on the Island of Snakes, a small promontory on the Black Sea, responded with a snub to the imposing ship.

When they demanded that they surrender, they challenged: “Russian warship, go to hell!” . The phrase remained a war cry and was already immortalized on t-shirts and even on a Ukrainian postage stamp.

At first it was thought that the detachment had been killed, but in reality they were taken hostage and then released in a prisoner exchange with Russia in late March, according to the Ukrainian parliament.

(With information from Reuters and AFP)

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