The blaze that broke out aboard Russian missile cruiser ‘Moskva’ in the Black Sea late on Wednesday has been localized and the crew is safe, the Defense Ministry said on Thursday. The flagship of the Black Sea fleet, which is taking part in the country’s military operation in Ukraine, remains afloat. Its main missile armaments haven’t been affected by the blaze, the ministry says.
“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.
Several Ukrainian officials had earlier boasted that a battery of their Neptune anti-ship missiles hidden in the area near the port town of Odessa had successfully struck the Moskva twice, setting it ablaze. However, they provided no proof to their claims, with the images of the burning vessel distributed on social media turning out to be fake.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense said earlier that the fire aboard the Moskva had been likely caused by an ammunition explosion. The cruiser had suffered “serious damage,” while its crew was safely evacuated to other ships in the area.
The Pentagon commented on the incident on Thursday evening, saying that there was “at least one” explosion on the Russian cruiser that was a “fairly major one” and “caused extensive damage.” The US military believe the ship is now heading to the Crimean port of Sevastopol for repairs, the Pentagon’s press secretary, John Kirby told CNN's Brianna Keilar.
Ukraine had already claimed last month to have sunk the Russian patrol boat Vasily Bykov, only for the vessek to show up in Sevastopol unharmed a few days later.
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