The dawn of April 13-14 saw one of the stages that will appear in the books of military history over the centuries, worst naval loss since Belgrano sank in the Malvinas War, in 1982. The Russian government on Thursday had to confirm one of the worst news since it launched its troops against Ukraine.

Moscow, his flagshipthe pride of his Navy, was exploited this morning. The real reasons for now form the debate.

According to Moscow, the fault of the fire affected the ammunition depots.

For kyiv, the ship was hit by two Ukrainian-made anti-ship missiles. The governor of the Odessa region, Maxime Martchenko, told news agencies that “Neptune missiles protecting the Black Sea caused major damage to that Russian ship.”

Moscow still floating but severe damage according to the information available at the end of this note. Its personnel have been evacuated and it is approximately 25 miles from the Ukrainian Black Sea coast. It will be towed to the port.

Machine of war

The Moskva cruiser is the crown jewel of the Russian Navy. Built in 1979 at Mikolayiv shipyards (now in Ukraine) and in use since 1983, its length is 186 meters, its maximum speed 32 knots, its 12,500 tons and its 16 Vulcan anti-ship cruise missiles with range of more than 600 kilometers they did to him a powerful war machine.

In case Russian President Vladimir Putin orders a naval attack off the coast of Ukraine, Moskva, named after Russia’s capital, will take the lead in operations.

Moskva, carrying a crew of more than 500 officers and sailors, was launched in 1979 under the name ‘Slava’ (Glory) and will command the new Atlant-class cruisers, ships. capable of launching guided missiles that they have to deal with NATO’s best ships. It has a sister ship, the Varyag.

In 1989, during the Soviet era, Mikhail Gorbachev brought him to Malta for a summit with US President George Bush Sr.

In 2000, it was renamed Moskva and assigned to be commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, which until then controlled the cruiser Admiral Golovko. In 2008 he participated in Russia’s attacks against Georgia and in 2015 in Russian operations in Syria to support the Bashar Al-Assad regime.

The closure of the Turkish straits of the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles to the ships of the warring countries (in practice of the closure of Russian ships) made the Moskva an important ship for Russian operations in the Black Sea.

His loss, in a scenario like the Black Sea fully controlled by Russia’s fleet and against a country without a Navy worthy of the name, was a shame for Moscow. A symbolic victory for the Ukrainians, an attack by David against Goliath.

At the beginning of the war, Moskva was entrusted to take over the small Snake Island, where there was a garrison of 13 Ukrainian soldiers.

The commander of the Russian ship radioed and demanded that they surrender. The answer is: “Russia’s warship, go to hell.” Moskva attacked the island, captured the soldiers and a few weeks later they were exchanged for Russian soldiers captured by the Ukrainian Army.

Brussels, special

CB