Russian warship damaged; Ukraine claims credit for attack on Moskva as war nears 2 month-mark

In a fresh blow to Russia, almost two months after the start of the Ukraine war, a flagship missile cruiser was "seriously damaged". Ukraine claimed that it hit the Moskva warship with two Neptune missiles.

Russia disputed the claim, saying that a fire led to explosion of ammunition aboard the ship. Interestingly, the Moskva is the same warship that had been told to "go to hell" when it asked some Ukrainian soldiers on Snake Island to surrender.

The Moskva is a Soviet-era missile cruiser and flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet since 2000. It is 186 m-long with a crew of over 500 soldiers, as per a BBC report.

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The warship has reportedly been leading the naval blockade of Ukrainian port city Odessa. Russian ships in the Black Sea have also hit Ukrainian cities with missiles.

Earlier, the Moskva was reportedly deployed in Syria to provide naval protection to the Hmeimim airbase, which is operated by Russia.