Moskva cruiser was registered as underwater cultural heritage of Ukraine

A Russian missile cruiser “Moskva” attacked by Ukraine’s armed forces on April 13 has been registered as underwater cultural heritage of Ukraine, according to the Ministry of Defence. The Ukrainian “Neptune” missile strike against the cruiser resulted in fire and led to its sinking.

Under the UNESCO Convention, ratified by the Verkhovna Rada in 2006, all traces of human existence at the bottom of the Black Sea in the country’s exclusive economic zone constitute the property of Ukraine. The Russian flagship is now some 130 km to Odesa, 45-50 m down.

The cruiser, which was built in Mykolaiv and launched in 1979, has been filed by the National Military History Museum of Ukraine. Now ‘Moskva’ is the largest sunken object at the Black Sea bottom. The ship has 186.4 m length and 11.5 tons displacement.

The cruiser is to be left sunken. “In the future, it is going to be a fascinating diving sight, given its dimensions”, stated Serhiy Voronov, the Museum director. He informed that “Moskva” is classified as a rare piece of science and technology heritage, because only 4 ships of a kind were created, the other being “Varyag”, “Marshal Ustinov” and “Ukraina” cruisers.