The destruction of the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation, the cruiser Moskva, is not only a blow to the morale of the Russian army. The event also exposed shortcomings in Russian naval defense capabilities, Chinese military experts say..

In their opinion, in addition to the direct impact on the war against Ukraine, the loss of a cruiser armed with anti-ship missiles will also reduce Russia's ability to deter the US aircraft carrier fleet in the Mediterranean Sea.. Business Insider writes about this, recalling that the Ukrainian army will sink a Russian cruiser with a strike of two Neptune missiles.. USA confirms it. Russia insists that the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet destroyed the explosion of ammunition on board and the fire. The ship sank while trying to tow it to port.. Washington reports that Ukrainian missile strike killed an unknown number of sailors. But in Moscow they insist that there are no losses. And the whole crew was evacuated.

Former Chinese People's Liberation Army Colonel Yu Geng warns against jumping to conclusions. He drew attention to the fact that the cruiser "

“If the Neptune missiles pierced the deck, then there would be deaths after the first explosion. But no one reports the death of the Russian crew. I am convinced that Russia would hardly hide it,” he said..

In 2018, the cruiser Moskva underwent a scheduled overhaul. He returned to service in September 2020.

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“This is evidence that the command was wrong or there may have been some wrong action that caused the fire... the aging of the electronics should not be discarded either, because the repair of the ship was unsatisfactory,” said the former Chinese military.

However, he added that if the Moskva really sank due to a Ukrainian missile strike, this would expose a large gap in air defense.. In particular, it may be due to incorrect operation in radar or crew.

“Whether he drowned due to the impact of missiles or just exploded himself, it is still a big loss for the Russian naval force,” Yu said..

The 12-ton Moskva was launched in 1983 under the name Slava.. It was renamed in honor of the capital of Russia in 1996. The cruiser was armed with 16 launchers for P-1000 Vulkan anti-ship missiles.. Former Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Navy Viktor Kravchenko called it " According to Yu Geng, there are almost no heavy Russian ships left in the waters. And two similar ships cannot enter the Black Sea, because Turkey has closed the Bosphorus for warships from any country.

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“So this is a very big loss for the Russian fleet.. The ship disappeared just when it was most needed,” said a former Chinese military.

In turn, a military analyst from Beijing, Li Ji, pointed out that with the loss of the Moskva cruiser, the Russian IMF's ability to deter the US fleet was greatly reduced..

“He was in service for many years and was armed with anti-ship missiles with very powerful attack capabilities.. US aircraft carriers were its main target.. So it turns out that the ability to attack was great, but the defensive ability is weak,” Li said..

Recall that the Armed Forces of Ukraine launched a missile attack on the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation, the cruiser " The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation confirmed the information about the problems with the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet - the cruiser " The defense department did not specify the reason, limiting itself to reporting a fire and detonation of ammunition..

The speaker of the Odessa OV Sergey Bratchuk said that the Russian Federation may try to avenge the significant damage to the cruiser "