Marshal Ustinov was assigned to the 43rd Missile Ship Division of the Russian Northern Fleet, whose homeport is in Severomorsk.

[4] Marshal Ustinov when constructed was armed with sixteen P-500 Bazalt (SS-N-12 Sandbox) anti-ship missiles (SSM) in two eight-missile launchers located amidships to either side of the superstructure.

[4] Hull number 070 was laid down at the 61 Kommuna#445 Yard, Mykolaiv on 5 October 1978 as the second Slava-class ship initially named Admiral Lobov.

[3] The cruiser was launched on 25 February 1982 and commissioned in the Soviet Red Banner Northern Fleet as the renamed Marshal Ustinov on 15 September 1986.

[citation needed] Between 22 and 26 July 1989 the cruiser, along with the oiler Genrik Gasanov and the destroyer Otlichnyy, paid an official visit to the naval base of Norfolk, Virginia, United States.

[citation needed] Between 16 and 20 July 1991 the cruiser paid a visit to the naval base of Mayport, Florida, United States.

[9] Between 30 June and 5 July 1993 she paid a visit to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada alongside the destroyer Admiral Kharlamov.

[10] In 1994, then commissioned in the Russian Northern Fleet, Marshal Ustinov was laid up at the Severnaya Verf shipyard in St. Petersburg awaiting extensive repairs.

[4] In December 1996, the People's Republic of China purchased two Sovremenny-class destroyers and the income from this sale made it possible to pay for the $US169 million repairs to Marshal Ustinov.

The refit comprised repairs to ship's hull structures, propeller-steering group mechanisms, main power plant, and general systems.

[25] This was only a third time after the Cold War that a Russian cruiser entered the South Atlantic, the first two being Pyotr Veliky in 2008/2009[citation needed] and Moskva in 2015.

[32] Other ships active in the area in January - February include destroyer Severomorsk,[33] frigate Admiral Gorshkov with the tug Altay,[34] nuclear submarine Severodvinsk, that launched a Kalibr missile,[35] corvettes Aysberg,[36] Snezhnogorsk,[37] Yunga and Brest[38] and salvage vessel Georgiy Titov with deep-submergence rescue vehicle AS-34.

[39] On 22 February, the same day as US bombers landed in Norway for the first time, Marshal Ustinov sailed in Varanger fjord in the area of Russia-Norway maritime border, becoming the first Russian warship to do so in the post-Cold War era.

[43] On 7 February 2022, the cruiser deployed to the Mediterranean along with destroyer Vice-Admiral Kulakov, frigate Admiral Kasatonov[44] and tanker Vyazma.

[45] Her battle group linked-up with Varyag's deploying to the Mediterranean on 2 February 2022 from the Pacific along with destroyer Admiral Tributs and tanker Boris Butoma.

Marshal Ustinov, Vice-Admiral Kulakov and Vyazma returned to Severomorsk on 15 September, after 236 days and 36,000 nautical miles travelled.

They were accepted by the commander of the Northern Fleet admiral Aleksandr Moiseyev, who claimed that the presence of such ships in the distant sea zone is one of the deterrents, preventing the escalation of the situation, which is now critical.