Russia on Thursday said the Moskva, the flagship of its Black Sea fleet, has sunk after Ukraine claimed to have struck the vessel with missiles.
The Russian defence ministry said the ship, which was told to “go f— yourself” by Ukrainian soldiers on Snake Island, was set on fire by an explosion of ammunition and sunk as it was being towed back to port. It said the cause of the fire was being investigated.
“While being towed… towards the destined port, the vessel lost its balance due to damage sustained in the hull as fire broke out after ammunition exploded. Given the choppy seas, the vessel sank,” the state news agency Tass quoted the ministry as saying.
The terse announcement came after Maksym Marchenko, the governor of Ukraine’s Odesa region, announced on Telegram that the Moskva had been hit by two Neptune anti-ship missiles, causing “serious damage”, and had “gone exactly where it was told to”.
The warship was 60 to 65 nautical miles south of Odesa when the fire ignited, and the flames were still being fought as it headed east hours later, according to a Pentagon official.
