In . – 04/15/2022 07:28 (act 04/15/2022 07:29)
Russia has to deal with the loss of the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s flagship – the “Moskva” – in the Ukraine war. ©REUTERS/Roy Madhur (icon image)
The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Thursday evening that the missile cruiser “Moskva” had sunk. In the Ukraine war, Russia lost its most important warship – the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet.
The flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet lost its “stability” in rough seas when being towed. Moscow had previously confirmed an explosion on the ship. Ukraine claimed to have hit the “Moskva” with two anti-ship missiles on Thursday.
Russia has denied the attacks by the Black Sea Fleet flagship Moskva
Russia denied the hits and instead spoke of the detonation of on-board ammunition. The ship has a crew of around 500 people and played a major role in the sea-launched missile attacks in Ukraine. As early as Thursday morning, the Russian army had stressed that the fire could be contained and the warship towed back into port. The crew was fully evacuated to other ships in the area. The “Moskva”‘s most important weapons were not damaged and the ship is not in danger of sinking, she said. The ship has a tonnage of 12,500. No warship this large has sunk since World War II.
Flagship of the Black Sea Fleet “Moskva” important for Russia from a symbolic point of view
The command ship is of great symbolic importance to Russia because, in addition to its military use, it was repeatedly used for diplomatic purposes. The Atlant-class missile cruiser was designed as an aircraft carrier destroyer. In 1983 she was put into operation in Soviet times under the name “Slava” (Glory). The 186-meter-long warship, renamed Moskva (Moscow) in May 1995, was armed with 16 Basalt/Wulkan anti-ship missiles – the naval version of the S-300 long-range missiles – and short-range Osa missiles. He also had rocket and torpedo launchers.
First use of “Moskva”
The ship was first used in an armed conflict in Georgia in August 2008. After Russia intervened in the Syrian war on the side of ruler Bashar al-Assad, the “Moskva” was deployed in the eastern Mediterranean between September 2015 and January. 2016. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, it secured the Russian Hmeimim air force base in Syria.
Participation of “Moskva” in the Russian offensive against Ukraine
Since February 24, the missile cruiser has also been involved in the Russian offensive against Ukraine. At the start of the conflict, the ship attacked Ukraine’s Cobras Island, near the border with Romania. Radio communications with Ukrainian border guards on the island went viral: when asked to surrender, the border guards responded: “Fuck you!”. Shortly after, the “Moskva” and the ship “Vasily Bykov” bombed the island and the Ukrainian soldiers were captured.
Ukraine: Eight Russian attacks repulsed in Donetsk and Luhansk regions
Ukraine reported more successes against the invaders on Thursday. Eight Russian attacks in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk were repulsed. In addition, it was possible to strengthen the defense of the city of Kryvyi Rih in southern Ukraine. The front was set back from the city for 40 to 50 kilometers, regional military chief Olexander Wilkul said, according to the Ukrinform news agency. Ukraine has also reported the release of several sites in southern Ukraine. Lviv paratroopers inflicted “significant casualties” on the enemy, after which the occupiers retreated, Ukrinform reported on Thursday, citing the army.
Interfax: Russia destroyed military installations in Ukraine
According to the Interfax news agency, Russia destroyed seven military installations in Ukraine within 24 hours. That includes a depot for rocket artillery, he said, citing the Russian Defense Ministry. According to his own statements, Russian troops also bombed an airfield in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro. A MiG-29 fighter jet, a Mil Mi-8 helicopter and a Bayraktar combat drone were destroyed overnight, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Thursday morning. In addition, two weapons depots in the Odessa and Donetsk regions were attacked.
Russian Defense Ministry: 1,160 Ukrainian soldiers surrendered in Mariupol
Konashenkov also claimed that 1,160 Ukrainian soldiers surrendered in the heavily contested port city of Mariupol and were taken prisoner by the Russians. Ukraine rejected this and, despite all the evidence, was confident of victory. “Mariupol was, is and will remain a Ukrainian city,” Mayor Wadym Bojchenko said Thursday on the ARD “Morgenmagazin”. He called the alleged capitulation of the Ukrainian fighters “fake news”. The politician is not in the city, but is said to be still in Ukraine.
Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory reported
However, Russian authorities have reported several Ukrainian attacks on its territory. Two helicopters fired from a low altitude into residential buildings in the village of Klimovo in the Bryansk region, Russia’s Investigative Committee said in a statement. Seven people were injured. For his part, the governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, wrote on Telegram that the village of Spodaryushino had been bombed. There were no injuries. He later reported another attack on the village of Zhuravlyovka. Your apartment building was attacked. Initially, it was unclear whether there were any injuries. Kiev rejected the information. Moscow staged such “terrorist attacks” to incite “anti-Ukrainian hysteria” in the country.
Ukraine in prisoner exchange with Russia
According to Kiev, 30 Ukrainian prisoners of war were released in another prisoner exchange with Russia. “Five officers and 17 military personnel were exchanged. Eight civilians, including a woman, were also released,” Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Thursday. In the evening, Vereshchuk also reported that 2,557 people were evacuated via humanitarian corridors from besieged locations on Thursday, including 289 from Mariupol.
While International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan announced on Thursday that he had received reports of new crimes in Ukraine, Kharkiv Regional Governor Oleg Synegubov published a new record of civilians killed in the contested region. border with Russia. According to the report, 503 civilians have been killed in the region since February 24, including 24 children. In the last 24 hours alone, there have been 34 attacks in the region around Ukraine’s second-largest city of the same name, Synegubov said in a video. One person died and eight others were injured.