The fall of the Black Sea Fleet flagship
In short: Once a symbol of Soviet naval power, the Moskva met a sudden end off the coast of Odesa. Struck by Ukrainian missiles, the cruiser's sinking on April 14, 2022, provided a significant morale boost for Ukraine and marked a dramatic turning point in the naval theater of the Russo-Ukrainian war.
Launched in 1983 under the name Slava, the Moskva served as the Project 1164 Atlant class flagship. For decades, it served as a prominent vessel for the Soviet and later Russian Navy, including a notable role in the 1989 Malta Summit where it hosted the Soviet delegation during meetings between Mikhail Gorbachev and George H. W. Bush. During that summit, the ship was anchored off the coast of Marsaxlokk, an event that earned the moniker 'Seasick Summit' due to the choppy seas that disrupted the scheduled meetings. The vessel was originally constructed at the 61 Kommunara Shipbuilding Plant in Mykolaiv. It was officially commissioned into the Soviet Navy during January 1983. This ship was the lead vessel of its specific class.
The cruiser's history was marked by various deployments, including the Russo-Georgian War in 2008, where it was involved in a surface engagement with the Georgian Navy, and the 2014 annexation of Crimea. It served as the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet after being recommissioned into the Russian Navy in April 2000, replacing the Admiral Golovko. Its long service life included visits to diverse locations, from the Greek port of Piraeus in 1986 to Havana, Cuba, in 2013.
On 13 April 2022, the vessel was hit by two Neptune anti-ship missiles from Ukraine near Odesa, leading to its destruction. While Russian authorities initially claimed the vessel suffered an ammunition fire, the cruiser ultimately sank the following day. This loss was a major event in the ongoing conflict, signaling a shift in naval capabilities in the Black Sea region.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Moskva | Russian guided missile cruiser | Britannica
- Also: Russian cruiser Moskva
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