MOSCOW, July 14. /TASS/. The heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser Pyotr Veliky will be decommissioned after the repairs and upgrade of the same-type warship Admiral Nakhimov, a source close to the Russian Navy told TASS on Friday.

"A principal decision on decommissioning the Pyotr Veliky has been made. This is due to take place after the Admiral Nakhimov re-enters service," the source said.

The larger part of the crew of the battlecruiser Pyotr Veliky has transferred to the board of the Admiral Nakhimov in the expectation of the warship’s delivery to the Navy. The remaining crew provides for the battlecruiser’s operational survivability, he said.

TASS has no official confirmation of this information yet.

Sevmash Shipyard Head Mikhail Budnichenko told TASS at the International Maritime Defense Show in St. Petersburg in June that the battlecruiser Admiral Nakhimov could enter shipbuilders’ sea trials in December this year or May next year after its repairs and upgrade at the shipbuilding enterprise. The warship is currently at the final stage of its repairs and modernization, which involve over 3,000 workers. Simultaneously, the naval ship’s mooring trials are underway. The warship is preparing for accommodating the crew on its board, he said.

Russian battlecruisers

The heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser Admiral Nakhimov has been under repairs at the Sevmash Shipyard since 1999. Real work on the warship has been carried out since 2013.

The upgrade has substantially boosted the cruiser’s strike capabilities. In particular, the warship will carry 10 versatile shipborne launchers for eight Kalibr-NK and/or Oniks cruise missiles. Eventually, the Admiral Nakhimov will carry Tsirkon hypersonic missiles.

On April 18, the battlecruiser Pyotr Velikiy marked 25 years since the St. Andrew’s naval flag was hoisted on its board. The Project 1144.2 Orlan missile cruiser Pyotr Veliky (NATO reporting name: Kirov class) is the Russian Northern Fleet’s flagship and the world’s largest surface combatant that is not an aircraft carrier. It is outfitted with a nuclear powerplant and missile armament. The warship is designated to strike large surface targets and provide all-round air and anti-submarine warfare defense.