More than a month ago, the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, the cruiser Moskva, was sunk in the Black Sea. Parents of conscripts who served there are still looking for the truth about the fate of their sons.

This was written by the publication “Novaya Gazeta. Europe”, whose journalists talked with the mothers of the missing conscript soldiers.

Two mothers of the missing sailors said that they were offered to voluntarily recognize their sons as “dead as a result of the crash.” They refused to sign the documents.

They tried to prove that the conscripts did not participate in hostilities

“The command met with us after we raised a wave at the very beginning, talking with journalists. The meeting began the same for everyone: “The cruiser will be recognized as a participant in a” special military operation “. The guys are all heroes, they will be awarded medals of courage. “Before I went for a conversation, I called the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and asked about the status of my son. This was after they announced the official data. I was told that in the lists My son is not listed as missing, wounded or dead. I asked what this meant. They answered me: “So he is in the ranks,” says the mother of one of the missing conscripts.

At a meeting with the command, the woman asked to clarify what it means that her son is “in service”, and that he is not on any of the lists, to which she did not receive a specific answer. The next day, she called the Ministry of Defense again, and again, her son was not on any of the lists.

“During a conversation with the command, they tried to prove to me for a long time that the conscripts did not participate in the hostilities. “And Snake Island?” I say. How could he not participate? Is he going on an excursion? I ask if the entire crew was on board at that moment? He says, well, yes, the whole one, “says the woman.

There was no search operation.

According to the mother of the conscript, the captain of the 3rd rank constantly told the parents of the guys different things – he said to one that the sailors could suffocate from the smoke, to others that he personally took people out of the engine room, but two people from this chain in the middle disappeared somewhere and found them failed .

“Until May 9, we realized that there was no search operation at all. I asked my friend, who also works there, serves. He said: “What search operation? In general, there is no operation. Someone would have let it slip or told us 100%. Burdenko someone once got through, while it was possible. They said that there were seriously wounded and unidentified. And the command claims that there are no wounded at all,” says the conscript’s mother.

Further, the woman says that the families of the missing conscripts began to receive mournful messages from the military registration and enlistment offices.

“Then messages began to come to us through the military registration and enlistment office:“ We inform you with sorrow that your son has disappeared as a result of the disaster. ”And then an already drawn up statement comes, written for me. It says that I admit that my son’s body was not found because there was a disaster. They invite this statement to be signed and say that there are witnesses who saw how the son was on the cruiser that day, but no one saw where he disappeared. I said that I would not sign anything. And they call me and say that “three families have already signed a statement, also come write so that they immediately go to court so that they don’t drag it out for a long time.” They didn’t even ask me if I was ready to sign such a statement that I voluntarily recognize my son as dead … Even not dead. It says “died as a result of the disaster” and it is not spelled out that he is a participant in this operation, “the conscript’s mother is indignant.

A lot of inconsistencies

The woman says that the commander told them that there were three missiles: one flew by, two hit. One flew into the engine room, the other into the dining room.

“I showed a photo of the guys, he immediately recognized everyone, 500 people. BC-7, BC-2, BC-5, he remembered everyone. He says that everyone was there, and it’s useless to look there. They told the story that my son was thrown out the window. Because when the smoke began, the conscripts began to be thrown out of the porthole, but since the water is cold and the cruiser is moving, they could get under the propellers and not stay on the water for a long time, “says the woman.

According to the woman, the captain told her that they fought for survivability for a long time, then they realized that everyone was already there and allowed everyone to jump overboard. The rafts began to drop.

“Everyone is left with the feeling that the guys are somewhere. Because there are a lot of inconsistencies. If we were called by the command and told everyone one version … But what we encountered is out of the way,” the woman summed up.

“Every day I hear the same memorized text”

Relatives of 19-year-old Mukhammed Murtazaev, who served in the military on the cruiser Moskva, were also asked to sign documents stating that he was considered to have died as a result of the crash. Mohammed’s mother, who asked not to be named, made it clear that she would not sign anything.

“We were informed that my son was included in the list of missing servicemen. At the same time, this information was not provided in writing. We also applied to the Military Commissariat of the Republic of Crimea and on April 29 received an answer: “I inform you with regret that your son Murtazaev Mukhammed Serverovich, who was conscripted, went missing as a result of a disaster on the high seas on the guards missile cruiser Moskva on April 13, 2022. Only 10 days after the incident, they came to their senses to create a team to inform relatives, and every day I hear the same memorized text that the divers descended, passed the site and did not find anyone, ”says the mother of the conscript.

At a meeting with the command, relatives were told that the cruiser was in neutral waters and was not a participant in hostilities.

In early May, the father of one of the conscripts who was on the cruiser, Yegor Shkrebets, published publications on the Web about what actually happened. The military prosecutor’s office stated that the son of Dmitry Shkrebets – conscript Yegor Shkrebets – was declared “missing without a trace” in the military unit. The department claims that the ship, on which Yegor served, “did not enter the territorial waters of Ukraine” and did not participate in a “special military operation.” On his page on VKontakte, Dmitry wrote that during the incident on the ship, the officers were the first to escape.

Ukrainian authorities reported on April 13 that the Russian cruiser had been hit by Neptune missiles. The next day, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed the explosion on the cruiser, but stated that the ammunition detonated on board, the sailors were evacuated, and the cruiser itself “retained buoyancy.” The Russian ministry then said the Moskva sank while being towed to Sevastopol in a storm.

Recall that adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Mykhailo Podolyak showed a document received by the parents of one of the conscripts who served on the cruiser Moskva. It says the cruiser wasn’t involved in a “military operation ” and the guy is missing.

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