Meet Moskva, the Russian "pregnant killer" who was damaged in the Black Sea

The anti-missile cruiser Moskva, one of the most important ships of the Russian fleet, was badly damaged on Wednesday (13) in the Black Sea, according to the Interfax news agency.

According to the Interfax report, some of the munitions on board exploded.

Mokva was commissioned in 1983, and is known as the “Aircraft Carrier Killer”. The crew of 500 has been removed from the ship so that the cause of the fire can be investigated.

This is the most important Russian ship that was in the Black Sea. The ship carries 16 anti-ship missiles of the P-1000 Vulkan system, with a range of at least 700 kilometers.

It also carries the Forten S-300 long-range air defense systems, capable of protecting an entire squadron of ships from enemy air attacks.

It weighs 12,500 tons, and the crew is about 500 people.

Moskva can fire missiles with a system called Bazalt at distances of up to 30 kilometers.

According to a report by the Russian Gazette Agency in May 2021, the P-1000 Vulkan missile was first launched that month.

Last month, Ukraine said it destroyed a large Russian landing support ship, the Orsk, in the Sea of Azov, northeast of the Black Sea. Moscow has not commented on what happened to the ship.

Below is a video clip from 2017 showing an attack by the Russian Navy against the Islamic State.