Russian media reported that Moscow, which Ukraine claimed had been hit by rockets, was towed back to port when it sank. It comes after a previous report by the Russian Ministry of Defense that the Soviet-era ship had been severely damaged by fire. Russian defense officials said ammunition on the 186-meter (610-foot) vessel exploded in an unexplained fire, but Ukraine claimed to have hit the ship with the Neptune missiles. Moskva sails on the Bosphorus on its way to the Black Sea in July 2021 (REUTERS) Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, called it a “colossal event.” Follow our live updates on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine here Russia has denied that the warship was attacked, saying its guided missile launchers were intact. The loss of the ship would be a huge military and symbolic defeat for Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, no statement from either side on the incident has been independently verified. Vladimir Putin and Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s Egyptian counterpart leave Moscow for the Black Sea port of Sochi in August 2014 (via REUTERS) Western officials later said, however, that Ukraine’s claim of a missile strike seemed “credible” – describing the Kremlin’s version of events as “hard to believe”. “We do not have the capacity to verify this independently at this time, but it certainly’s a big blow to Russia,” said US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. Moscow, which usually housed a crew of about 500 sailors, was about 69 miles south of the port of Odessa when the fire broke out, according to an unnamed senior U.S. defense official. The loss of Moskva deals a new blow to the Russian offensive, as it prepares for a new offensive in the eastern Donbass region that is likely to determine the outcome of the conflict. Moskva was built in Ukraine during the Soviet era and is now the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet (AP) Commenting on Russia’s setbacks, CIA Director William Burns said that Russia’s threat to use potentially regular or low-efficiency nuclear weapons in Ukraine could not be taken seriously, but that the CIA had not seen much practical evidence to support it. worry. During the early stages of the war in February, a group of Ukrainian soldiers posted on Snake Island, known as Zmiyyny, in the Black Sea, refused to surrender, telling a approaching Russian warship – the Moskva – to “go to itself.” σου. “. Reports of damage to Russia’s flagship earlier today were preceded by claims by Moscow of progress in Mariupol, the southern port city that has suffered some of the fiercest fighting in the war – at a horrific cost to civilians. A residential building was destroyed during the Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port of Mariupol (REUTERS) A spokesman for Russia’s Defense Ministry, Lt. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, had earlier claimed that 1,026 Ukrainian soldiers had been handed over to a metal factory in the city. But Vadim Denishenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, denied the allegations, telling Current Time TV that “the battle for the port is still going on today.” It was not clear how many forces were still defending Mariupol. This map shows the extent of the Russian invasion of Ukraine (Press Association Pictures) His capture is crucial for Vladimir Putin’s forces, as it will allow Russian troops in the south to join them in the eastern Donbas region, the industrial heart of Ukraine, and the target of an impending attack. While it remains unclear when Russia could launch a major offensive in Donbass, the loss of Moskva has the potential to delay any new, large-scale offensive.
