The probable sinking of one of Vladimir Putin’s biggest warships in the Black Sea is one of the most stunning military achievements in modern naval history.

That’s the opinion of one historian following the widespread reports that the Moskva was sunk after being hit by Neptune missiles in the ongoing war that followed the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In a fascinating Twitter thread, author and historian Chris Owen (@ChrisO_wiki) described the attack on the Moskva, if confirmed, as “likely to go down in history as one of the most audaciously successful attacks in modern naval history”.

He added: “If she's been sunk, the Moskva will be the biggest warship lost since WW2: at 12,490 tons she's bigger than Argentina's General Belgrano, sunk by the Royal Navy in 1982 [during the Falklands War].

“Apart from the symbolism of her likely loss, she's of great military value as a platform for air defence and missile bombardment of land targets. Her loss is of great significance to both sides.”

The Moskva infamously attacked Snake Island early during the war, when the brave Ukrainian defenders told the ship to "go f**k yourself".

Chris said the Russians would find it hard to replace the Moskva – which was, ironically, built in Ukraine in 1979 – because Turkey has closed the Bosphorus to military traffic.

As to how the Ukrainians pulled off such a coup, Chris said: “Early reports suggest a brilliantly effective combination of tactics, strategy and the exploitation of its own capabilities, combined with awareness of Russian weaknesses.

“The Moskva was reportedly struck by Ukrainian-designed Neptune anti-ship cruise missiles.

“According to early reports, the attack took place during a storm. This would have made flying difficult but also helps to conceal shore-based activity from observation. The Russians wouldn't have seen the preparations.”

It’s thought the Ukrainians used a TB-2 drone as part of the attack. TB-2s can be deployed to locate enemy ships and relay their positions to coastal missile batteries, as well as carrying out direct attacks themselves.

“It's possible that the Ukrainians used a TB-2 to identify and target the Moskva for the Neptune battery,” wrote Chris.

“Or it could have been a sacrificial pawn to distract the cruiser. Or both! (I don't know if the TB-2 survived.)

“How did the Russians not see the incoming Neptunes? The Moskva has/had a single main air defence radar… Problem is, it only has a 180-degree field of vision.

“360-degree coverage is provided by… long-range air search radars for shorter-range SA-8 missiles. But it's likely that in the storm, they couldn't distinguish the sea-skimming Neptunes from the wavetops.

“So it's likely that the Ukrainians purposefully got the Moskva to point its best radar in the wrong direction [by using the TB-2] while the Neptunes sneaked under the coverage of the other radars. Very smart.”

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The Russian defence ministry has admitted the ship caught fire and was evacuated.

“No crew means no damage control, which means an uncontained fire,” wrote Chris.

“At the very least, it's likely to have burned down to the waterline, if it hasn't actually sunk. Reports suggest it was listing badly before it was evacuated, so there was probable water ingress.”

He added sardonically: “Either way, the total loss of the Moskva as a military asset is highly, highly likely. The man in the Kremlin is having a very bad day today.”

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