14th April, 2022
The blaze that broke out aboard Russian missile cruiser ‘Moskva’ in the Black Sea late on Wednesday has been localised, the Defense Ministry said on Thursday.
Ukrainian officials said that a battery of their Neptune anti-ship missiles hidden in the area near the port town of Odessa successfully struck the Moskva twice, setting it ablaze.
Russia disputed this and attributed the fire to an ammunition explosion, RT.com reported.
The cruiser had suffered “serious damage,” it said, while its crew was safely evacuated to other ships in the area.
The flagship of the Black Sea fleet, which is taking part in the country’s military operation in Ukraine, remains afloat, it added.
Its main missile armaments haven’t been affected by the blaze, the ministry said.
“There is no open fire. The detonation of armaments has ceased,” the ministry announced in a statement on Thursday.
The Atlant-class guided missile cruiser, which was commissioned in 1983, carries 16 anti-ship missiles and many more air-defense missiles, torpedoes and guns.
Measures are being undertaken to organize the towing of the 12,490-ton vessel to port, the ministry said, adding that the cause of the fire being investigated.