A Russian warship in the Black Sea was first “severely damaged” after an explosion and then sank. This is the missile cruiser Moskva (Moscow), which, according to CNN and the New York Times, would be the flagship of the Moscow fleet in these waters. However, there are contradictory reconstructions of the causes: According to Kyiv, the ship would have been hit by Ukrainian missiles, while the Russian Ministry of Defense spoke of a fire that detonated the ammunition on board. Moscow later added that the cruiser “lost stability and sank while being towed during a storm” (WAR IN UKRAINE: THE SPECIAL LIVE UPDATES).
Kyiv: hit by our missiles
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The versions are therefore contradictory about what happened on the cruiser. The governor of the Odessa region, Colonel Maksym Marchenko, wrote on Telegram: “Our Neptun antiship missiles hit the Russian cruiser and damaged it very badly. And Kyiv had announced that the damage was enormous and that the cruiser was sinking.
Moscow: First a fire, then it sank while being towed
A Russian note had immediately denied that the ship was sinking: “There are no active fires. Munitions explosions have ceased. Cruiser Moskva remains afloat.” He added that investigations are underway to determine the causes of the fire that caused the munitions to explode. He also specified that the Russian flagship would be towed into port in the Black Sea. Later, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the cruiser “lost stability and sank while being towed during a storm.” According to Moscow, the ship “lost stability due to damage to the hull that occurred during the fire after the ship exploded on Ammunition carried on board.
The cruiser to the island of snakes
The sunken cruiser is the same one that gave the 13 Ukrainian sailors on Snake Island an ultimatum to surrender on February 24, saying, shouting through a megaphone: “This is a Russian military ship, surrender and lay down your arms, otherwise we will open fire”. The military replied: “Russian warship, fuck yourself.” The audio went viral on social media and went around the world. The sailors were initially presumed dead. Instead, they were captured and released on March 25 in the first prisoner exchange agreed with Moscow since the beginning of the war.