MOSCOW: As per the Russian defence ministry Statement, a missile cruiser from the Black Sea fleet was damaged by the incident. Russia's Black Sea fleet's flagship, the Moskva missile cruiser, was heavily damaged in a blast on Thursday, the country's Defense Ministry reported.

"A fire on the Moskva missile cruiser resulted in a broadside weapons blast. The ship was severely damaged. The team had to be evacuated "In a statement, the ministry stated. The cause of the fire was not identified, but an inquiry is underway, according to Xinhua, quoting the Tass news agency.

The fire was blamed on an unintentional ammunition explosion, according to Russian state media.

The ministry's announcement came just hours after many Ukrainian government officials claimed that anti-ship guided missiles buried in or near the coast of Odessa had attacked Moskva twice. The 12,500-tonne cruiser was commissioned in 1983 and is equipped with 16 anti-ship "Vulkan" cruise missiles, making it the most important ship in Russia's Black Sea force.

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