Leading Russian ship damaged in Black Sea; hit by missile, Ukraine claims

Russia has another setback in the last few hours after a major explosion on its flag ship in Black Sea.

Russia's Black Sea fleet got badly damaged after ammunition on board blew up, according Interfax news agency.

The latest blow forced Russian authorities to immediately evacuate crew from the Moskva missile cruiser and blamed the blast on a fire.

The 12,500 tonne ship usually has a crew of around 500, Reuters reported.

Ukraine came out claiming that Moskva was hit by two anti-ship missiles.

However, Ukrainian authorities wouldn't give evidence to bear out their claim.

The Russian Defense Ministry stated that fire on the Moskva missile cruiser after ammunition detonation seriously damaged the ship.

The Moskva, commissioned in 1983, was armed with 16 anti-ship "Vulkan" cruise missiles with a range of at least 700 km (440 miles), reports say.

A retired Russian admiral in April 2021 said Moskva was the most serious ship in the Black Sea, according to Interfax.

According to Ukrainian authorities, Moskva cruiser had involved in one of the landmark early exchanges of the war along Ukrainian border.

Following the damage on the ship, Ukraine said 13 guards died in the subsequent Russian attack; but President Zelensky later said some of them survived.

Maksym Marchenko, governor of Black Sea port of Odessa, said that Moskva had been hit by two Ukrainian-made Neptune anti-ship cruise missiles,

Last month Ukraine claimed it had destroyed Russian ship Orsk. Moscow wouldn't say what happened to this ship either.