A Ukrainian missile reportedly 'hit a Russian warship', which the Russian military said sank while it was being towed to a port after being badly damaged. The cruiser, which is the flagship of the Russian Military's Black Sea fleet, was gutted by fire and later sank in a storm after being targeted on Wednesday (April 13).
The Russian Defence Ministry said the Moskva sunk following a fire on the warship, which had set off some of its weapons and forced the crew to evacuate. However, Ukrainian officials announced that the warship was hit by Ukrainian missiles late on Wednesday off the Black Sea port of Odessa.
They added that their forces hit the vessel with missiles, while Russia acknowledged a fire aboard the Moskva but no attack. The US was unable to confirm Ukraine’s claims of striking the warship.
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The warship, named after the Russian capital, was 60 to 65 nautical miles south of Odesa when the fire ignited, and the vessel was still battling flames hours later while heading east, according to a Pentagon official. The loss of the ship would be a major military setback and a devastating symbolic defeat for Moscow as its troops regroup for a renewed offensive in eastern Ukraine after retreating from much of the north, including the capital Kyiv.
Despite an early report from one Ukrainian official saying the ship had sunk, the Moskva was still moving on its own power, at least for now, a senior US defence official said. The official added that the Pentagon could not confirm what caused the fire.
Russia said the fire aboard the ship, which would typically have 500 sailors on board, forced the entire crew to evacuate. It later said the fire had been contained and that the ship would be towed to port with its guided missile launchers intact. The ship can carry 16 long-range cruise missiles, and its removal from combat would greatly reduce Russia’s firepower in the Black Sea.
