Moskva, flagship of Russian Black Sea fleet, on fire after missile-hit

Russia's defence ministry has stated that the missile cruiser 'Moskva',  the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, has been 'seriously damaged' after Ukrainian forces said they hit the ship with two missiles. 

Moskva was leading naval assaults on Ukraine. There was a fire on board the warship following the attack which caused the ammunition on the ship to detonate. The ship has reportedly been seriously damaged. However, the Russians have not confirmed if the Moskva has sunk.

The crew of the Moskva, estimated to be a little over 500, has been evacuated. Moskva entered service in 1983 under the name 'Glory'. The warship received its present name in 1996. One of the biggest weapon systems on this cruiser is the P-1000 Vulkan missile launchers, and there are 16 of them on board.

Moskva made headlines when Ukrainian border guards on Zmiinyi Island, also known as Serpent or Snake Island, had told the cruiser and its crew to "go f*** yourself" when they were told over the radio to surrender. Russian forces reportedly bombarded the island soon after, killing all 13 border guards.

According to reports, the Ukrainians used two Neptune anti-ship missiles to target the Moskva. Reports suggest that the Ukrainian forces used Turkish-made armed TB2 drones to distract the Moskva before unleashing the Neptune missiles.

The Neptune, which has a maximum range of 300 kilometres, uses an inertial navigation system to reach its designated target area and then switches to an active radar seeker to find and destroy its target.

Moskva is the second Russian warship to be damaged during the 50-day invasion of Ukraine. A landing ship sank off the Ukrainian port city of Berdiansk.

The targeting of Moskva, which experts say is a major blow for the Russian defence forces, came on the day US President Joe Biden authorized additional military aid worth $800 million for Ukraine. Russia, meanwhile, has stepped up its fatal assaults on the eastern city of Kharkiv.