Russian Moskva warship ‘damaged’ confirms Russian MOD

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A fire broke out onboard Russia’s sole aircraft carrier on Thursday, Russian state media reported. The Admiral Kuznetsov, a flagship of the Russian Navy, suffered a “minor” fire while undergoing repair work at a shipyard in the Arctic port of Murmansk, according to reports by the Russian state Tass and RIA Novosti news agencies. 

Both cited Aleksey Rakhmanov, head of the state-owned United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) which is overseeing a major refit of the carrier, as saying that the blaze was quickly extinguished and caused no casualties.

Delays and accidents have marred the Admiral Kuznetsov’s ongoing overhaul, which began in 2017 and was initially set to conclude last year. At least one person was killed and 12 others were injured after a fire broke out in December 2019.

The previous year, a crane crashed onto its deck after a floating dock holding it began to sink, causing unspecified damage.

Rakhmanov told Russian media in June that he expected the Admiral Kuznetsov to return to service in early 2024, almost three years behind schedule.

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Russian media said that the fire spread to a six-metre area on the open deck.

The cause of the fire is still unknown.

The ship has the length of three football pitches and can carry up to 28 fighter jets and 17 helicopters.

Vladimir Putin has been ramping up efforts to get old warships afloat in his bid to increase pressure on Ukraine.

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on Kyiv

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The blast is the latest in a series of mysterious explosions that have hit critical Russian infrastructure since the start of the Ukraine invasion.

On Tuesday, a massive explosion rocked Chuvashiya in western Russia after a gas pipeline ruptured sending a ball of flame soaring into the air.

The explosion is reported to have hit the Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod pipeline.

A massive ball of flame was seen erupting from the damaged pipeline.

Firefighters were reported to be having problems reaching the scene of the blast due to the wintery conditions.

Faulty equipment was raised as the most likely cause of the repeated explosions hitting Russia’s pipeline network.

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