In a massive blow to its war efforts in Ukraine, the Russian warship Moskva has sunk while being towed to port in the Black Sea.
As the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, the Moskva was a symbol of Russia’s military might.
“During the towing of the cruiser Moskva to the port of destination, the ship lost its stability due to hull damage received during a fire from the detonation of ammunition. In the conditions of stormy seas, the ship sank,”
russia’s ministry of defence
But crippled by fire and explosions onboard, the warship has now sunk.
Conflicting accounts have emerged about an incident involving the warship in the Black Sea
The Russian defence ministry says it went down during a storm while it was being towed back to harbour.
Russia says a fire broke out on the guided-missile cruiser, causing munitions aboard to explode, inflicting serious damage to the vessel.
The crew was forced to evacuated.
On social media, an audio recording purportedly of Ukrainian troops reporting the cruiser attack circulated.
Russia has not confirmed Ukrainian claims the damage to the vessel was caused by a missile strike on the ship.
Blow to Russia’s prestige
The loss of the Moskva is a blow to the prestige of the Russian armed forces.
And it jars with President Putin’s claim, only two days ago, that what he calls his special military operation in Ukraine, is going according to plan.
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