Overview

• The Admiral Kusnezow has sat idle in Murmansk Shipyard 35 since 2017 with its rebuild halted after a series of technical failures and cost increases.
• A 2018 dock collapse and a 2019 onboard fire that killed two workers have driven repair costs above original estimates.
• Strategic debates have intensified between former Pacific Fleet commander Sergej Awakjanz, who favors unmanned systems, and retired officers Michail Tschekmasow and Wassili Dandykin, who insist Russia needs carrier capabilities.
• Roughly 1,500 of the carrier’s former crew have been reassigned to a land unit and are fighting in Ukraine.
• The Defense Ministry, Navy High Command and United Shipbuilding Corporation are due to make a final call on the carrier’s fate this month, with scrapping now seen as the probable outcome.