The missile cruiser “Moskva” was hit by a Ukrainian missile. The stricken ship sank on the way to a port.
By René Garzke
Heavy blow for Russia off the coast of the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol! The stricken Russian missile cruiser Moskva has sunk, according to Moscow.
The flagship of the Black Sea Fleet went down during a storm on Thursday while being towed to its destination, the state agency TASS reported on Thursday evening, citing the Russian Defense Ministry. The towing had become necessary because the ship had lost stability due to damage to the hull. “The ship sank in stormy seas,” it said.
Russia claims ammunition exploded and caught fire on the cruiser. Ukraine, on the other hand, reported that the cruiser had been hit by an anti-ship missile.
In any case, one thing is certain: it is one of the greatest material losses for the Russian army since the beginning of the war.
A senior US defense official said Thursday in Washington it was not yet clear what caused the damage to the missile cruiser.
It is believed that the ship was 60 to 65 nautical miles south of the Ukrainian city of Odessa when the explosion occurred. “At the moment we cannot say definitively what caused this explosion and the subsequent fire.” It could be due to a missile attack, but there could also be other reasons.
The danger of fires and explosions on such ships is generally high because they have flammable and explosive material on board, he stressed. It is therefore important to be careful when drawing conclusions. Another Western government official spoke of a “considerable blow” to the Russian armed forces, it was a “huge loss”.
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“Either they were vulnerable to a Ukrainian attack and that calls their competence into question. Or a fire onboard an important ship has resulted in a detonation in the ammunition hold, and that too would be a sign of incompetence,” the government official said. It is a “blow to the pride of the military”.
▶︎ The fact is: Russia cannot replace the Moskva. Because Turkey refuses Russian military ships passage through the Bosphorus. And Russia does not have other ships of similar power in the Black Sea.
