The Russian missile cruiser “Moscow” was on fire until Thursday night after it was hit by Ukrainian missiles. An adviser to President Zelenskyj claimed Thursday morning that the ship had sunk. But according to Russian authorities, it is still flowing.
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– Where is «Moscow»? She drowned.
Adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Oleksiy Arestovych, claimed on Thursday morning that the Russian warship “Moscow” had sunk after Ukrainian attacks.
Russia confirmed on Thursday night that the missile cruiser was on fire and that ammunition on board had detonated.
But on Friday morning, several hours after Ukraine said “Moscow” had “drowned”, the Russian Defense Ministry said the ship was still afloat.
It reports the news agency Reuters, which quotes the state-owned Russian news agency TASS.
Just after the Russian statements were published on Thursday morning, the wording is a little different from the Ukrainian authorities. The Ukrainian military now says the ship began to sink after the fire. They still insist that two Ukrainian Ukrainian Neptune missiles caused the fire.
–Russia claims to have control of the fire on the ship and says they are in the process of investigating the cause of the fire, according to Reuters, which quotes the Russian news agency Interfax.
The ship’s most important weapons and ammunition must be undamaged in the fire, and work is underway to tow the ship back to a port, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
– Very potent air defense
War captain and researcher at the Naval War College, Tor Ivar Strømmen, tells VG on Thursday morning that the ship has no doubt been hit and that it is probably Ukrainian Neptune missiles.
– She has been hit, no doubt, he says.
“Moscow” basically has triple air defense, Strømmen explains: Long-range and short-range air defense missiles, as well as Gatling cannons at close range. The ship provides air defense not only for itself, but for many other Russian forces in the immediate area.
Thus, the air defense can not have worked, says Strømmen.
– In that case, it is human error or technical error, I do not know. The ship basically has a very potent air defense, says Strømmen.
– In principle, it should not be a problem for “Moscow” to handle an attack with such missiles, Strømmen says.
Flagship
The huge missile cruiser was built in the 80’s and is considered the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
The head of the county administration in Odesa, Maksim Marchenko, wrote in Telegram on Wednesday night that “Moscow” has been hit by Neptune missiles and has received very serious damage.
The ship was seriously damaged in the fire, and the entire crew was evacuated, according to Russian authorities. But Moscow has not confirmed that it is due to the ship being hit by Ukrainian missiles.
The missile cruiser will be in the Black Sea at Slangeøya. At least 500 Russian soldiers are said to have been on board.
Here is Marchenko’s message:
–Can be ugly loss
“Moscow” is the largest vessel Russia has in its Black Sea Fleet. It is a missile cruiser that was originally built to attack American aircraft carriers during the Cold War, Strømmen says.
Russia has three such ships left. The other two, which belong to the Pacific Fleet and the Northern Fleet, are currently in the Mediterranean and look after the American aircraft carrier “Harry S. Truman”.
“Moscow” is a fairly old ship that is less upgraded than the other two ships. It is old not only this year, but also in technical condition, according to Strømmen.
Lieutenant Colonel Palle Ydstebø at the War School said earlier on Thursday that it is conceivable that the ship has been hit by Ukrainian missiles, but that it still requires verification before it can possibly be established.
– If it has gone down, it is an ugly loss for Russia both militarily and in terms of prestige, Ydstebø said.
“Even if it has only been hit by Ukrainian missiles and has not gone down, it is still a loss for Russia that they let it be hit,” said Ydstebø.
–Asked to “go to hell”
“Moscow” is the main ship in the Atlantic class, in NATO also known as Slava. The ship is part of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
It’s the same ship as Ukrainian border guards on Slangeøya asked “Go to hell” at the beginning of the invasion.
– It has been confirmed that “Moscow” went exactly where it was sent by our border guards on Slangeøya, Marchenko writes eloquently.
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