There are still no signs that the Moskva, the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, sank in stormy seas last Thursday. This is how the Defense Ministry in Moscow put it – not outright denying reports that the heavily armed missile cruiser had been hit by two Ukrainian “Neptune” anti-ship missiles, but presenting an alternate version of events that included an ammunition explosion.
However, observers point out that, at the time in question, no storms made landfall in the northwestern part of the Black Sea. So far, Moscow has not provided any information about seafarers who were killed or injured in the incident or who are missing.
Instead, it was officially said that the entire crew – probably around 500 men – had been evacuated from the ship. “This is a lie! A petty and cynical lie!” wrote Dmitry Shkrebez on Russian social network VKontakte on Sunday. His son Yegor was drafted into military service in June last year in Yalta – a port city in southern Ukrainian Crimea. annexed by Russia – and did so on the Moskva River, as a cook, it was said.
Journalists found an article in a naval newspaper from last December in which Yegor Shkrebez is mentioned by name and photo as the ship’s cook on the Moskva. His son, Schkrebez wrote, was placed on a list of those who disappeared without a trace after “the tragedy about which we have not yet discovered the truth.”
parents speak
Shkrebez alluded to a promise made by President Vladimir Putin, who, after numerous reports of Russian conscripts captured in Ukraine, said in early March that such reservists would not serve in the war or, as the Kremlin called it, “military special operations” in the in Ukraine.
As far as the Navy is concerned, there is also an official statement from 2017 that no recruits will be deployed on warships. Shkrebez asked for his Vkontakte post to be shared, which, like a previous one, will surely be deleted, and wrote that he would dedicate his future life to helping the truth prevail. “A man who has had his child taken in such a petty way is not afraid of anything.”
Russian journalists also found a post by a Saint Petersburg resident in VKontakte about another recruit, Mark Tarasov, who served on the Moskva River and is now believed to have disappeared. Ukrainian journalists reported a post honoring Ensign Ivan Vakhrushev, who was killed in the Moskva River; his wife confirmed to them that her husband had died on the Moskva and said 27 crew members were missing.
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The regime-critical newspaper Novaya Gazeta, which was recently published online with a “Europe” edition after being discontinued in Russia, published a story on Sunday by a Russian woman whose son also served as a recruit on the Moskva River. It was written under the protection of anonymity, obviously for fear of being sued. The woman said her son survived, calling her last Friday and tearfully revealing that the rocket attack, carried out from mainland Ukraine, killed “about 40 people”, injured “a large number” and “some ” have disappeared.
Limbs of the wounded were blown off by explosions, on the one hand by the impact of the rockets, on the other hand “what detonated”. This would indicate that after the impact of the “Neptune” rockets on board there was an explosion of ammunition and a fire. This is also supported by recordings that have been circulating on social media since Sunday; they should show the Moskva doomed to shipwreck, in calm seas and with deep billowing black smoke.
Funeral arrangement dedicated to the “boat and sailors”.
Although there are no official confirmations, a mourning ceremony was dedicated to the “boat and sailors” at a farewell ceremony in Sevastopol last Friday. In addition, a Russian attack hit the armaments factory near Kiev, where the “Neptune” rockets were manufactured.
Russia’s Defense Ministry on Saturday released footage of a meeting between Russian Navy commander Nikolay Yevmenov and men in black sailor uniforms who are members of the Moskva River crew. The crew was said to be in Sevastopol, Moskva’s home port in Crimea. However, journalists estimated the number of sailors filmed at just 100 to 150; where the rest remained obscure.
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Yevmenov said in the recordings that recruits under the occupation would be released in May and June, as required by law. This also contradicts Putin’s promise not to use recruits against Ukraine. That should help the Kremlin put a kind of firewall between the president and the end of the flagship.
Especially since the lawsuit raises many questions about Moskva’s air defenses. On Monday, Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said of the images that appear to show the Moskva River in flames: “Yes, we have indeed seen these images, but we cannot say to what extent they are authentic and correspond to reality.” .