Russia Appointed a New Commander for Flagship Moskva Six Months After Ukraine Sank It

The Russian Ministry of Defense appointed a new commander for the Moskva missile cruiser, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, six months after it was destroyed and sunk by Ukrainian forces.

The Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine (HUR) announced this on Thursday, Dec. 14, by publishing an excerpt from the order of Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu No. 1012 with a stamp “For official use.”

HUR said: "According to the document dated September 10, 2022, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, the cruiser “Moskva,” has a new commander - Andrey Igorevich Savateev.

"Savateev took the 'vacant' post of commander as a temporary acting officer.

“We will remind you that the Security and Defense Forces of Ukraine destroyed the cruiser Moskva in April 2022.”

The missile cruiser Moskva suffered a precise strike from Ukrainian Neptune missiles on Apr. 13, 2022, leading to its sinking the following day.

Although the exact number of individuals on board at the time of the attack remains undisclosed by Russia, up to 500 people could have been present there.

Kremlin has acknowledged only 17 fatalities, attributing it to a combination of “ammunition detonation, fire, and subsequent flooding during adverse weather conditions.”

It was both a great military loss for the Russians and a blow to their confidence. After the sinking of the Moskva, the Russian fleet moved far from Ukrainian shores.

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Notably, this incident stands as Russia’s most expensive single military loss in the ongoing war with Ukraine, with the estimated value of the ship at the time of its destruction reaching approximately $750 million, as reported by Forbes.

For Ukraine, in turn, it was a matter of honor, because this ship took part in the storming of Zmiinyi Island on Feb. 24, 2022, and a Ukrainian soldier addressed it on the radio with the famous words: “Russian warship, go f*ck yourself.”

It is quite symbolic that the cruiser, built in the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, was used by the Russians in attacks against Ukrainians and was destroyed by Ukrainian missiles.