The Russian missile cruiser "Moskva", until 1995 called "Slava", was the
first unit of a very interesting type of ship of the project 1164,
characterized by, inter alia, 16 anti-ship missile launchers set
inclined in the bow section. Project 1164 missile cruisers, which, apart
from "Moskva", also include "Varyag" (ex-"Red Ukraine"), "Marshal
Ustinov" (ex-"Admiral Lobov") and "Ukraine" (ex-"Komsomolets", ex-"Fleet
Admiral Lobov"), when they entered service, were considered to be among
the best in their class. They had enormous firepower, and thanks to
their technologically advanced missiles, they were called "aircraft
carrier killers", due to their primary purpose, which was to destroy
American aircraft carriers.
"Moskva" gained its "fame" thanks to the spectacular sinking which took
place during the hostilities during the Russian invasion of Ukraine in
2022. After she fired on Snake Island on February 24, whose personnel
refused to lay down their arms, on April 13, 2022, around 19.00 she was
hit by two anti-ship missiles. At that time, approximately 60 nautical
miles south of Odessa, the cruiser was badly damaged. A fire broke out
and ammunition exploded.