Retaining or retiring Russia's large Soviet-era ships exposes the replacement problem

What would retiring the Kirovs and Admiral Kuznetsov signal to other countries?

It would suggest that Russia had given up capabilities it could not replace, although retaining the ships also reveals that weakness.

Retiring the Kirovs and Admiral Kuznetsov would suggest that Russia had abandoned capabilities it could not replace. Keeping the ships also makes the absence of replacements visible. Retaining something is considered preferable to having nothing, despite the embarrassment of relying on irreplaceable ships.