THE Moskva missile cruiser, flagship of Russia Black Sea fleet, was badly damaged when ammunition on board blew up, reports Moscow's independent Interfax News Agency.
Interfax said the 500-man crew had been evacuated. A Ukrainian official earlier said the Moskva had been hit by two missiles, but Russian Defence Ministry officials blamed the blast on a fire.
The 12,500-tonne (displacement) Moskva was armed with 16 anti-ship 'Vulkan' cruise missiles, which have a range of at least 440 miles.
'As the result of a fire on the Moskva missile cruiser, ammunition detonated. The ship was seriously damaged,' the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement.
Maksym Marchenko, governor of the region around the Black Sea port of Odessa, earlier said in an online post that two anti-ship missiles had hit the cruiser.
Last month Ukraine said it had destroyed a large Russian landing support ship, the Orsk, on the smaller Sea of Azov to the northeast of the Black Sea. Moscow has not commented on what had happened to the ship.
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Interfax said the 500-man crew had been evacuated. A Ukrainian official earlier said the Moskva had been hit by two missiles, but Russian Defence Ministry officials blamed the blast on a fire.
The 12,500-tonne (displacement) Moskva was armed with 16 anti-ship 'Vulkan' cruise missiles, which have a range of at least 440 miles.
'As the result of a fire on the Moskva missile cruiser, ammunition detonated. The ship was seriously damaged,' the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement.
Maksym Marchenko, governor of the region around the Black Sea port of Odessa, earlier said in an online post that two anti-ship missiles had hit the cruiser.
Last month Ukraine said it had destroyed a large Russian landing support ship, the Orsk, on the smaller Sea of Azov to the northeast of the Black Sea. Moscow has not commented on what had happened to the ship.
SeaNews Turkey