Russian cruiser Moskva was commissioned in 1983. Before it was named after the capital city of the Russian Federation, it used to be called Slava – a word meaning Glory. However, the end of this ship was less than glorious. Its attacks on the Ukrainian cities ended on 14 April 2022 when it was hit by two Ukrainian anti-ship missiles R-360 Neptun. It didn’t stop it from getting a new commander though.
Russian cruiser Moskva, the flagship of the Black Sea navy, during a much different part of its history. Image credit: Mil.ru via Wikimedia (CC BY 4.0)
This is one date you should remember – the 14th of April 2022, the day when the Russian cruiser Moskva was attacked by Ukrainian anti-ship missiles, which ultimately led to its sinking. This was a huge and an embarrassing loss to the Russian Armed Forces. First of all, Moskva was participating in the war against Ukraine – it was an important asset for Russia. Secondly, it was the flagship of the Black Sea fleet. This hit was celebrated wildly in Ukraine and created many questions in Russia.
The history of the guided missile cruiser Moskva has ended some time ago, but there are new details about its last commander. Apparently, the last commander of Moskva was approved long after the ship was gone. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu appointed a new commander of the Moskva missile cruiser, even though it has long been lying at the bottom of the Black Sea for quite some time.
The Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine published an extract from the Russian Defense Minister’s Order No. 1012 with the tag “for official use only”. According to that September 10, 2022 document, the flagship cruiser Moskva of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet has a new commander, called Andrei Savatev.
Bizarrely, Savatev took the “vacant” position of commander. Again – the ship was permanently out of commission on the 14th of April 2022 and the new commander was approved on the 10th of September that year. Almost five months later!
Ukrainian postal stamp, commemorating the legendary answer to Moskva in the opening hours of the war – “Russian warship, go f$%k yourself”. Image credit: Roysma via Wikimedia
Russia, by the way, never publicly admitted that the cruiser Moskva was defeated. They never admitted that it sank due to two hits by Ukrainian missiles. Instead, they claimed there was an incident of an accidental ammo detonation, which, combined with the stormy seas, resulted in damage, which led to Moskva sinking. Russian media sort of tried to sweep it under the rug, pretending that it wasn’t a big loss at all.
The new commander for a sunken ship is weird even by the Russian standards. What happened there? It is possible that it was just an error in the untidy Russian bureaucracy.
Written by Povilas M.
Source: Tsn.ua