Navy commander: Ukraine first to destroy enemy missile cruiser during war

Ukraine is the first country in the world to have destroyed a missile cruiser during wartime, Vice Admiral Oleksiy Neizhpapa, commander of the Ukrainian Navy, said in an interview with Krym.Realii.

"Right now, Ukraine is the only country in the world that has destroyed a missile cruiser during war. So far, we are the first in this regard... First, its name is the capital of Russia. Second, it was the fleet's flagship. Third, it was a missile cruiser," he said.

According to the navy commander, the Russian cruiser Moskva was responsible for isolating the combat zone and coordinating other ships operating from Snake Island to Cape Tarkhankut.

Its main mission was to prevent NATO ships from engaging in combat and to block Ukrainian vessels from leaving the area, he said.

Neizhpapa believes the strike and sinking of the Black Sea Fleet's flagship sent a significant message to Russia.

"We understood that if we could pull this off, the enemy would realize they could no longer approach our shores at such a distance, and we would be able to push them away from Odesa," he said.

• The Moskva cruiser was destroyed by Ukrainian Neptune missiles on the night of April 13-14, 2022.
• The remains of Russia's Black Sea Fleet flagship now rest at the bottom of the Black Sea and can be seen in radar satellite images.
• On March 30, 2025, the Ukrainian Navy stated that the Moskva was hit without U.S. assistance. Previously, The New York Times reported that the sinking of the cruiser sparked anger, surprise, and panic within the administration of then-U.S. President Joe Biden, which was unaware of the strike's planning.