The flagship of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea sank. Twenty-four hours after the attack from Odessa with Neptune missiles claimed by Kiev, Moscow announces the final loss of the cruiser Moskva, which sank in the freezing waters off southern Ukraine after “losing stability while being towed in a storm” . According to the Russian Defense, the ship sank “in the rough sea due to damage to the hull, which occurred during the fire following the explosion of the ammunition” carried on board. After the crew of some 500 sailors had been evacuated, the Pentagon, which had confirmed “at least one explosion” but not its cause, gave it direct to the port of Sevastopol, Crimea, in a desperate attempt to fix it. . But this evening failed, sending to the bottom, together with a giant of 12,500 tons and 750 million dollars, an important piece of the credibility of Vladimir Putin’s armed forces. And with the Moskva, it is feared that a nuclear warhead may have ended up in the abyss which, according to unconfirmed rumors, would have been part of her arsenal. The fact that the Moskva sank for the Pentagon is a “hard blow” to the Russian fleet (WAR IN UKRAINE: THE SPECIAL – LIVE UPDATES).
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Kiev: hit by our missiles
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The versions are therefore conflicting on what happened on the cruiser. The governor of the Odessa oblast, Colonel Maksym Marchenko, wrote on Telegram: “Our Neptune anti-ship missiles hit and caused very serious damage to the Russian cruiser.” And Kiev had made it known 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. The explosions of ammunition have stopped. The cruiser Moskva remains afloat.” She added that investigations were underway to establish the causes of the fire that caused the ammunition explosion. He also specified that the Russian flagship in the Black Sea would be towed to port. Later, the Russian Defense Ministry explained 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, which occurred during the fire. following the explosion of the ammunition carried on board.
The cruiser to the island of the Snakes
The sunken cruiser is the same one that on February 24 gave the ultimatum for surrender to the 13 Ukrainian sailors on Snake Island with the words, shouted through a megaphone: “This is a Russian military ship, surrender and lay down your weapons, otherwise we will open fire “. The military replied, “Russian warship, go fuck yourself.” The audio went viral on social media and went around the world. The sailors were initially believed to be dead. Instead, they were taken prisoner and released, on March 25, in the first prisoner exchange agreed with Moscow since the beginning of the war.
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