Russian newspaper Izvestia reports that repairs have been suspended on the Russian Navy's sole aircraft carrier.
Although the 58,000-tonne Admiral Kuznetsov is still in active service with the navy, the ship has been undergoing an overhaul at Murmansk since 2017.
The overhaul, which was originally intended to extend the carrier's service life, has been marred by incidents affecting the schedule.
On October 30, 2018, the drydock in which Kuznetsov was placed suffered a power supply interruption, which then caused a crane to fall onto the carrier's flight deck, leaving a 19-square-metre hole. One yard worker went missing following the mishap and has not yet been found.
The carrier suffered two onboard fires in 2019 and 2022. The first fire incident left at least one person dead and over a dozen injured while no serious injuries were reported in the second incident.
Although Russian Navy officials have recognised the need for aircraft-capable ships, some believe that it is no longer feasible to keep Kuznetsov in service even if it undergoes modernisation.
Officials of the navy and state-owned United Shipbuilding Corporation, which is responsible for the ongoing repair of Kuznetsov, are set to discuss whether to resume the necessary works on the carrier and return it to service.
Kutnetsov has been in service since 1991, when it was commissioned into the Soviet Navy. The carrier's only other sister, originally named Riga, was still incomplete when it was sold to China in 1998.
Ex-Riga was eventually completed in China and has been operating with the People's Liberation Army Navy since 2012 as Liaoning, making it the country's first aircraft carrier.