Russia is building a ship to replace the cruiser Moskva, the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet that Ukraine destroyed at the beginning of the war.
Satellite images released by the Ukrainian military publication Defense Express show the progress of building one of the two amphibious assault ships of the Ivan Rogov class, which will be part of the Russian Navy.
The first of these new ships, currently under construction, will replace the missile cruiser Moskva, sunk in the Black Sea by the Ukrainian military in the early days of the war in Ukraine, and will be much larger, indicating that Moscow is aiming to rebuild its naval credibility after a series of losses suffered by the Black Sea Fleet in the war.
According to satellite images, the amphibious assault ship of the Ivan Rogov class surpasses in size and capacity the cruiser Moskva.
The new ship will be approximately 220 meters long and 40 meters wide. With an estimated displacement of 30,000 tons, it can carry up to 900 marines and 75 combat vehicles, three smaller aircraft, and 15 helicopters (including the Ka-29 and Ka-52K models).
In comparison, Moskva was 186 meters long and had a displacement of 11,490 tons.
The construction works taking place at the Zaliv shipyard in Kerch, Crimea, are behind schedule. The first navigation tests have been postponed to 2027, and estimates for the launching date are already pessimistic, as reported by Defense Express.
However, in the past year, workers have pushed hard to make up for the delay. Defense Express compared recent images with those posted by OSINT researcher MT Anderson on X in July 2024. "At that time, the ship's hull was just beginning to take shape, meaning the Russians have significantly advanced this project in less than a year," the publication notes.
"It's not urgent yet, but Ukraine could do the world a favor by hitting the shipyard in Kerch. The two giant warships under construction are developing, albeit slowly," wrote journalist and documentary maker Tim White on X.
The sinking of the cruiser Moskva, a symbol of the Russian Navy's strength in the Black Sea, was a humiliating blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin, taking both him and the Biden administration by surprise.
The cruiser Moskva sank shortly after Ukraine announced it had hit the ship with missiles in April 2022, causing substantial damage.
At that time, Russia rejected Ukraine's claims, attributing the incident to a fire onboard that triggered an ammunition explosion.