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MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — The Russian Black Sea flagship Moskva, which was concerned in Moscow’s army operation in Ukraine, was badly broken after Russia stated a fireplace sparked munitions explosions onboard.
Listed here are three issues to find out about Russia’s symbolic warship which, along with being concerned in army missions, has been a software of Moscow’s diplomacy.
– Soviet origins –
The 186-metre (610-foot) missile cruiser — then referred to as Slava (Glory) — was designed to destroy plane carriers and entered service within the early Eighties.
Later renamed Moskva (Moscow), the vessel carries 16 Vulkan anti-ship missiles, in addition to an array of anti-submarine and mine-torpedo weapons.
The Moskva has twice undergone main repairs, the final time between 2018 and 2020, in keeping with the RIA Novosti information company.
Russia’s defence ministry says the ship can carry a crew of as much as 680 folks.
– Three wars –
The warship has been deployed in a number of army conflicts, together with Russia’s invasion of its Caucasus neighbour Georgia in August 2008.
Russia has not disclosed details about the vessel’s mission throughout that battle.
However a senior Georgian army official on the time advised AFP Thursday it sailed into Georgia’s Black Sea port of Ochamchire and attacked Georgian forces within the Kodori Valley of the breakaway republic of Abkhazia, serving to pro-Russian separatist forces acquire management.
Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s president on the time, expressed his “gratitude” to the ship’s crew for his or her “braveness and dedication” throughout the battle.
The Moskva was additionally deployed within the Mediterranean throughout the Syrian battle, the place the defence ministry stated it ensured the safety of the Russian forces’ Hmeimim airbase.
Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded the complete crew the Order of Nakhimov — a naval ornament for excellent army management — for “their braveness and dedication”.
The ship operates out of Sevastopol, the bottom of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Moscow-annexed Crimea.
The Moskva gained notoriety within the early phases of Moscow’s army operation in Ukraine, launched on February 24, when its crew referred to as on Ukrainian border guards defending the strategic Snake Island to give up, just for them to defiantly refuse.
– Diplomatic platform –
The Moskva has beforehand performed a task within the diplomatic efforts of Russian and Soviet management.
When nonetheless referred to as Slava, it took half within the open-sea Malta Summit held between Soviet chief Mikhail Gorbachev and then-US president George Bush, shortly after the autumn of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
The Slava hosted the Soviet delegation, though the precise assembly happened aboard a Soviet cruise ship, the Maxim Gorky.
The ship additionally participated in a nuclear disarmament convention in Yalta in August 1990.
As a part of army workouts, Moskva has travelled the world, docking in numerous ports throughout Europe, Asia and Africa.
It additionally performed host to a number of overseas leaders.
Putin and then-Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi visited the cruiser whereas it was in Italian waters in August 2003 and in 2014, Putin had an onboard assembly with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
© Agence France-Presse
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