At least two missiles with nuclear warheads may have been on board Moskva cruiser – military expert

At least two of the 16 missiles on board the Moskva, the Russian cruiser sunk by Ukraine in April 2022, may have had nuclear warheads.

Source: Stepan Yakymiak, retired 1st rank captain and a military expert at the Centre for Defence Strategies, in an interview with a joint podcast by Ukrainska Pravda and the Centre for Defence Strategies

Quote: "I think that of the sixteen [missiles on the cruiser], at least two, maybe up to four [were nuclear]. That’s my estimate. I haven’t seen any classified documents on this matter, but going by the practice and experience of combat training and going on combat duty – and this is a ‘special military operation’ – a ship has to be fully combat-ready for immediate and subsequent tasks, and nuclear war and the ability to repel attacks from NATO are an element of that," Yakymiak explained.

Quote: "I’m sure about this, based on my experience and knowledge of getting ships ready for combat missions, and this one [the Moscow cruiser] would go to sea for long-term missions. Yes, it returned periodically, and between 6 and 10 April it was in Sevastopol to replenish supplies. Most likely they were replenishing fuel and food, and possibly carrying out some personnel replacements. But it is also likely that there were missiles with nuclear warheads," Yakymiak said.

Background:

• The Moskva, the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, was hit by a Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship missile system in mid-April 2022.
• The Russian Defence Ministry confirmed the explosion on the cruiser but stated that a munition had detonated on board, the sailors had been evacuated, and the cruiser itself had "retained its buoyancy". The Russian ministry later claimed that the Moskva sank while being towed to Sevastopol in a storm.

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