"Admiral Kuznetsov" Will Go For Scrap Metal

The head of VTB announced the decommissioning of Putin's only aircraft carrier.

The Admiral Kuznetsov cruiser, the only aircraft carrier in the Russian navy, may be decommissioned before the completion of repairs that have been ongoing since 2018, VTB head Andrey Kostin said. "We believe there is no point in repairing it anymore. It is already 40 years old and over, and the thing is extremely expensive... I think the issue will be resolved in the sense that it will either be sold or utilized," Kostin told Kommersant correspondent Andrey Kolesnikov. The latter noted that the cruiser "has already started to be dismantled." Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin entrusted the construction of the Russian fleet to VTB, transferring the bank's state stake in the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC).

The fact that the Russian Defense Ministry may refuse to rebuild the Admiral Kuznetsov was previously reported by a source of Izvestia. He noted that the repair and modernization of the ship has been suspended, and the issue of its further fate should be decided in the USC and the Chief Committee of the Navy (Navy). The Admiral Kuznetsov cruiser is designed to defeat large surface targets, protect naval formations from enemy attacks and support amphibious operations. The ship can base 28 airplanes and 24 helicopters. The aircraft carrier went in for repairs after returning from a campaign in the Mediterranean Sea, where it carried out strikes against militant targets in Syria. Initially, the reconstruction of the ship was estimated at 20 billion rubles. The cruiser was expected to return to the Navy in 2022, but the completion date of the renovation was postponed several times. A TASS source earlier reported that the service life of aircraft carriers may be extended by 20 years.

You can support the website Charter97.org

MULTI-CURRENCY ACCOUNT FOR ASSISTANCE:

Bank's name: Bank Millennium S.A.
Address: ul. Stanislawa Zaryna, 2A, 02-593, Warszawa
IBAN: PL97116022020000000216711123
SWIFT: BIGBPLPW
Name of the account holder: Fundacja “KARTA ‘97”
Purpose/title of payment: Donation for statuary aims

You can contact us by the e-mail charter97@gmail.com