The Moskva sank during a storm, according to the Russian news agency TASS. The Russian ship, which was damaged during the invasion of Ukraine this week, was towed to the country just for repairs.
What exactly happened to the Moskva remains unclear. The ship caught fire on Thursday, triggering the evacuation.
Missiles
Ukraine said earlier Thursday that the craft was hit by two Neptune missiles fired from the shore from Odessa.
According to the Americans, although there had been an explosion on the ship, it was towed to a harbor for repair. However, the Russians reported that the ship was evacuated because of a fire in the ammunition depot on board, but it was not said how that fire would have started.