Russian aircraft carrier sinks, Ukraine claims due to missile attack

Aircraft carrier Russia sank in the Black Sea not long after the explosion and the claimed fire Ukraine as a missile attack from them.

The ship with the Moskva missile system has led the Russian navy in the war with Ukraine that began on February 24.

Russia’s defense ministry said the explosion that occurred on board the ship as a result of exploding ammunition and the resulting damage had caused the ship “to lose balance” as it was being towed into port.

“Given the choppy seas, the ship sank,” the Russian news agency TASS was quoted as saying AFP.

On the other hand, Odessa military spokesman Sergey Bratchuk of Ukraine instead said the ship had been hit by a Neptune missile from their side.

In Washington, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said he could not verify either version, but stressed that the sinking of the Moskva was a “huge blow” to the Russian fleet.

Ukraine continues to fight against Russia. Moreover, America has also launched a military aid package to the country to help Ukraine drive out Russia in the east, from howitzers to armored personnel carriers and helicopters.

No electricity and water

On the other hand, Russia is still trying to seize Donbas, where Russian-backed separatists also control the Donetsk and Lugansk regions. This allowed Moscow to create a southern corridor to the Crimean peninsula they had occupied.

But days of rain that has drenched the region could support Ukraine in its fight against an invading Russian force, a senior Pentagon official said Thursday.

“The fact that the ground is softer will make it difficult for them to do anything outside the paved highway,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Moscow’s Black Sea Fleet has blockaded the beleaguered southern port city of Mariupol, where Russian officials say they have complete control.

In what appears to be its first official accusation of abuses targeting Russia, the Kremlin said at least six air strikes had hit residential buildings in the Bryansk border region and injured seven people including a toddler.

“Using two military helicopters carrying heavy weapons, the Ukrainian armed forces illegally entered Russian airspace,” the Russian Investigative Committee said.

Russia sparked fears of a return to conflict around Kyiv on Wednesday when it threatened to attack the capital’s attack command center in retaliation for any Ukrainian attack on Russian soil.

But in eastern Ukraine, civilians said they were “not resting” from the bombardment, including in Severodonetsk, the last eastern city still held by Ukrainian forces.

Lugansk Governor Sergiy Gaiday said it was now nothing more than a ghost town, where settlements just a few kilometers from the front line had buried 400 civilians.

“There is no electricity, there is no water,” Maria, who lives with her husband and mother-in-law, told AFP amid a frenzy of shooting that she said never stopped.

“But I’d rather stay here, at home. If we go, where are we going?”

Meanwhile, in eastern and southern Ukraine, evacuations of civilians have been set to resume on Thursday. This was revealed by Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk.

More than 4.7 million Ukrainians have fled their country in the 50 days since the Russian invasion.

(tst/agn)

[Gambas:Video CNN]

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