Posted on 04/14/2022 6:02:09 AM PDT by Red Badger
RTS Moskva (121). Russian MoD Photo via TASS
The Russian Navy’s Black Sea flagship has suffered major damage and the crew has abandoned the ship, state media said late Tuesday in reports following Ukrainian claims of hitting the ship with a missile strike.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed the mishap on RTS Moskva (121), a ship in the country’s Black Sea Fleet, according to state-run outlet TASS.
The crew of the Moskva the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet was severely damaged and the crew abandoned ship, the Russian Defense Ministry told TASS.
A fire broke out on the ship, causing ammunition to detonate, according to TASS. State media did not elaborate on the cause of the fire.
Ukrainian officials claimed that shore-based anti-ship guided missiles hit Moskva which had been operating from the Black Sea Fleet’s headquarters in Sevastopol, Crimea.
“It has been confirmed that the missile cruiser Moskva today went exactly where it was sent by our border guards on Snake Island!” Odesa governor Maksym Marchenko said in a Telegram message on Tuesday. “Neptune missiles guarding the Black Sea caused very serious damage to the Russian ship.”
Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship missiles. Ukraine MoD Photo
Neptunes, first fielded in 2021, are based on the Soviet AS-20 ‘Kayak’anti-ship missile which is similar to the U.S.-built Harpoon missile.
Moskva was commissioned into the Soviet Navy in 1982 and is one of three Slava-class guided-missile cruisers.
The three 11,500-ton Slavas were designed around launchers that can hold 16 SS-N-12 Sandbox anti-ship cruise missiles – each about the size of a telephone pole. Developed in the 1970s, the Slavas and the Sandboxes were designed to take on U.S. and NATO aircraft carriers by overwhelming them with a barrage of high-speed cruise missiles to sink ships.
The two other Slavas are RTS Marshal Ustinov (055) and RFS Varyag (011) have been operating in the Mediterranian.
Moskva is not the first Russian warship to be damaged in the nearly 50-day invasion of Ukraine. A landing ship sank off the port of Ukrainian city Berdiansk after being attacked by Ukrainian forces, USNI News previously reported.
The ship’s fire ultimately damaged a merchant ship at port in Berdiansk, causing damage.
Or the sinking of the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano in 1982.
...or Vladamir gets neutered by his oligarchs.
A lot of them have had their toys embargoed.
General Belgrano, HMS Sheffield, the South Korean destroyer, and operation preying mantis losses were just as drastic.
The response should worry sane people. Especially if it seems like NATO did this in reality and called it a Ukrainian action. This could get nasty.
“no good way for Russia to spin this.”
All the little Putinbots are desperately trying, though.
Exactly. Global wars have started with smaller incidents. I fear that Russia is being exposed--at least their military is--and I don't want to test their capabilities if they're backed too far into a corner. Their nuclear capabilities may be similarly inept, but I don't want a few of them launched as a test.
Russia needs an opportunity to back down and de-escalate with Ukraine.
The era of the surface combatant is over. Anything located can be sunk anywhere by a technologically sophisticated opponent. Many young sailors will die horrible deaths before today’s “battleship admirals” realize the new reality. The Ukraine war and the Armenian/Azerbagani conflict has already demonstrated that armor is equally outdated and cannot survive on a modern battlefield. The silicon chip has changed everything.
I wonder if the Black Sea Fleet commander was on board at the time of the attack?
With EMPs going off all over the globe, the silicon chip will be short lived......................
...or Vladamir gets neutered by his oligarchs. A lot of them have had their toys embargoed.
—
only 20 or so are sanctioned out of the 110 oligarchs
They probably won’t release that info for a while...............
Well-his statement didn’t qualify it that way (or at all)
And though many here dismiss it, the war has been prosecuted in a careful manner to avoid civilian casualties. That is what we are calling incompetence. For example Kiev has pretty much been untouched, the rail lines to Kiev haven’t been attacked. NATO convoys havent been attacked. The power is on. The Russians haven’t even cut off the gas.
They may just decide to go heavy.
This could get bad. Our government is determined to take down the Russian government and install a WEF Zekinsky type there. Nobody is pushing for deescalation... nobody.
A look at the pic tells us that a hit among those missile tubes on the main deck (and that is about 30% of the length of the ship) is probably going to cause catastrophic damage to the ship.
Not a bad gig
Everything is going as planned.
Putin is playing 4D chess.
All is well.
“A passport to somewhere else, presumably where war isnt likely to show up.”
You build a military having in mind a mission set. The Russian military was built to inflict maximum damage on a first-rate peer or superior military. Just like using multimillion dollar supersonic jets are not the weapon you need to fight a rag-tag bunch of insurgents armed with AK-47’s, the Russian navy has almost zero use against Ukraine. The Moskova was designed to attack fleet carriers, not pound ground targets with artillery. It’s not garbage, even if it probably has more rust than paint. It’s a dangerous weapon that is being inappropriately used. Discounting it and other navy weapons because they are being badly used would be a mistake.
"Russian says it will tow the flagship of its Black Sea fleet back to port after extinguishing a fire on board - flames that Ukraine claims to have ignited with anti-ship missiles."
Conditional statement leaving one to believe that the fire had not yet been out...what fire fighting capabilities do the much smaller Russian warships have? Would seem not to be prudent to bring them along side until all cooks off. Hell, hope the Ukraine picks up the 7-10 split if they do.
Sat photos show is already docked....
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