According to Russian media reports, the Admiral Kuznetsov—long awaited for revitalization—will soon be decommissioned and scrapped for good. Russia’s only aircraft carrier is aging and has recently caused more trouble than success for the navy under Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin. After its only (!) completion in 1991, the colossal vessel and former pride of the Russian Navy has been sitting in a shipyard in Murmansk since 2017.
However, repair work had to be halted repeatedly. In 2019, a major fire broke out due to welding operations, killing two officers and injuring several other crew members. Crew Already Deployed to the Ukrainian Front In 2022, there was another fire alarm, and the ship had to be evacuated. Cabins on the port side of the carrier were identified as the source of the blaze.
According to Russian sources, no one was injured in that incident. By that point, the Admiral Kuznetsov was supposed to have already undergone full repairs. But nothing came of it—primarily due to the mounting costs of the war in Ukraine and problems linked to international sanctions on the country. Speaking of the war: according to a recent report in Militär aktuell, the carrier’s crew had already been reassigned to a different unit and deployed in the conflict against Ukraine.
Experts Dispute the Need for Aircraft Carriers Now, according to the Russian newspaper Izvestia, the fate of the Admiral Kuznetsov is expected to be decided once and for all. There is still no consensus regarding the relevance of aircraft carriers in modern warfare. Former Pacific Fleet Commander Sergei Avakyants, in an interview with the Moscow Times, expressed skepticism, stating:
“The aircraft carrier is a relic of the past. It’s a huge and expensive ship that can be destroyed in minutes with modern weapons.” Russian military expert Vasily Dandykin holds a very different view, pointing to the need for aircraft carriers when conducting operations “far from the coast.” He also emphasized the current expansion of the Chinese and Indian navies, both of which include aircraft carriers in their fleets.
