Russian Defense: The warship Moskva was severely damaged

MOSCOW, April 14 (YPA) – Russia on Thursday said the flagship of its Black Sea fleet was seriously damaged and its crew evacuated following a fire that caused an explosion, as a Ukrainian official said the vessel had been hit by missiles.

“As a result of a fire, ammunition detonated on the Moskva missile cruiser. The ship was seriously damaged,” the Russian defense ministry was quoted as saying, adding that the cause of the fire was being determined and that the crew had been evacuated.

For its part, Kiev said that its forces had hit the Russian warship with a missile strike.

“Neptune missiles protecting the Black Sea have caused very serious damage to the Russian ship,” Said Maksym Marchenko, of the region around the Black Sea port of Odesa

The Moskva cruiser belongs to the Black Sea Fleet, entered service in 1983 under the name “Slava”, and in 1996 carried its current name, its main weapon consisting of 16 Vulcan B-1000 rocket launchers.

E.M