The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed on Thursday the sinking of its flagship, the Moskva cruiser during towing. This following Ukraine claimed an attack that caused a fire on the ship.
This caused Russia to decide to move south the ships it had in the northern Black Sea, according to a senior US Department of Defense official.
The cruise ship was between 111 and 125 kilometers south of Odessa when an explosion was recorded.
Ukraine stated that the Moskva was hit by the Neptune anti-ship missiles, however, Moscow indicated that it was an ammunition explosion.
The vessel was 183 meters long and had a crew of nearly 500 sailors, and was designed to be an air defense platform. She was the pride of the Russian fleet.
The “Moskva” began its operations in the Soviet era in 1983 and participated in the Russian intervention in Syria from 2015.
The army’s flagship in the Black Sea gained notoriety early in the war for the attack on Snake Island, in which 19 Ukrainian sailors were captured and exchanged for Russian prisoners. (I)
