The flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet - the missile cruiser “Moskva” (Moscow) has sunk, said the Russian Ministry of Defense.

The military said the cruiser sank while being towed to a port in the Black Sea. The ship lost stability due to damage to the hull caused by an explosion of ammunition and a fire on board on the night of 13 to 14 April.

As early as 1 p.m. yesterday, authorities in Kyiv announced that the vessel had been hit by Ukrainian Neptune missiles. The information was not confirmed by the Russian side.

The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that the reasons for the incident were being clarified and that the crew had been evacuated in a timely manner.

The cruiser “Moskva” was built at the shipyard in the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv and was launched in 1983. Its main weapon is 16 launchers of supersonic anti-ship missiles P-1000 “Vulcan”. It is also equipped with anti-submarine and mine-torpedo weapons, artillery and anti-aircraft systems. The ship's crew is 510 people.

The sinking of the Russian cruiser is a "big blow" for Russia's naval forces in the Black Sea, the Pentagon said.

“This is a blow to a key part of the Russians' efforts to establish some kind of maritime dominance in the Black Sea,” said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby. He added that Washington could not confirm the exact reason for the sinking of the Russian ship.

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/BNR