Russian domination of the Black Sea seemed unquestionable until yesterday. The loss of the Russian cruiser Moskva, which sank last night, is a serious operational problem for the Russians in the war in Ukraine. But, above all, it is a colossal symbolic loss.
The flagship of its Russian fleet Black Seawhich was built in the 1980s, sank within hours drifting with it to the bottom of the pride of the armed forces of Vladimir Putinwhich have been severely tested since the start of the offensive against Ukraine on 24 February.
According to Moscow, the cruiser was hit by a fire that caused the ammunition to explode. According to Kyiv, it was attacked with rockets. In both cases, “it’s a loss of strong symbolic value,” according to retired Admiral Pascal Auxerre, director general of the Institut méditerranéen des hautes études stratégiques (FMES).
A warship like the Moskva has the ability to continue the battle even after one or more blows and knows how to manage a fire, the nightmare of warships. “This is a ship of 12,000 tons, which sank in 12 hours (…). This is not foreseen “, he adds.
The 186-meter-long Russian cruiser was armed with 16 Bazalt / Voulkan anti-ship missileswith Fort Rocketsthe naval version of the S-300 long-range missiles, and with Ossa short-range missiles. It also had rocket launchers, cannons and torpedoes.
Air coverage
Its crew consisted of up to 680 men, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense. “It ensured the air cover of the other warships during the operations and especially during the bombing of the coasts and the landing maneuvers,” said its spokesman. Odessa local military administration Sergei Bratsuk in the Telegram.
The operational vacuum is significant, but manageable by Moscow, according to Western sources.
It protected an area 150 kilometers in diameter around it, explains Nick Brown, a specialist at the British Janes Institute. “With Turkey closing the Bosphorus and Dardanelles to Russian ships, it will be difficult for Russia to replace these air defense capabilities.”
But “the rest of the Black Sea Fleet remains a strong force,” adds Nick Brown, referring to modern Admiral Grigorovitch-class frigates equipped with more modern anti-aircraft defense systems than the Moskva cruiser, albeit shorter-range, and long-range Kalib missiles. . “The Russian fleet was not left out of the battle.”
However, Moscow received a strong slap in the face. Contrary to expectations, it relinquished control of Ukrainian airspace after demonstrating significant tactical and strategic weaknesses in the first weeks of ground attacks on Ukraine, and its navy is now receiving a severe blow.
“We see the same mistakes at sea that the Russians make on land,” said a senior French military official.
Moskva doom “highlights weaknesses of Russian navy”
“The loss of the warship itself will not be a technical setback for Moscow, because the involvement of the Russian navy in the war is limited,” said Maya Otarashvili of the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) in Washington. But Moscow will have to deal with the loss if it plans to “use the navy more in the war.”
Because if Moskva was hit by Neptune missiles In combination with the use of a drone for purposes of targeting or distraction, as stated by the Ukrainian forces, the question arises of the equipment of Russian warships.
“Does Ukraine have naval defense capabilities that Moscow has not assessed?”, wonders Maya Otarashvili, stressing that the government of Volodymyr Zelensky was persistently seeking anti-ship missiles. “What kind of anti-ship missiles does Ukraine have?” “What damage could they do to the Russian navy?”
The details of the attack by the Russian cruiser will not be known immediately. Hull observation would be important, but it is now at the bottom of the Black Sea.
Remains the image of a symbolic warship, which took part in the Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008, in Syria in 2015-2016, with a crew that had the reputation of the experienced, who considered it necessary to abandon the ship that could not save .
“It was the flagship, most likely the command staff of the fleet that has been developed in the area.”, says Pascal Auxerre. They will have to designate another warship to take charge of coordination.
“It’s a small sea, everything is within range of the anti-ship missiles. Locating and identifying is very simple “, adds the retired admiral. The demise of Moskva “highlights the weaknesses of the Russian navy.”
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