US confirms sinking of Moskva by Ukrainian missiles

This week, the Moskva was sunk in the Black Sea. In a statement, Ukraine claimed responsibility for the assault and said it was preparing retaliatory strikes.

A fire on board and “stormy sea conditions,” according to Russia’s defence ministry, were to blame (although Russian state TV presenters are not unanimously toeing that line). According to the Washington Post and New York Times, top US defence officials corroborated the Ukrainian account of events on Friday.

Zelenskiy was questioned about the Moskva during the an interview, but his reaction was guarded.

“We’re aware that it’s no longer there. “It is a powerful weapon against our nation, therefore its sinking is not a sorrow for us,” Zelenskiy added.

What happened to it, he continued, “history will tell.”

The fate of the 510 crew members on board the Moskva, Russia’s most famous and well-known naval cruiser, remains unknown. Moscow has not provided any more information or shared any images.

Luke Harding and Andrew Roth of The Guardian’s Kyiv bureau reported yesterday:

The Russian state-run news outlet Tass first said that the “entire crew” had been evacuated, but this was later corrected. The term “entire” was afterwards deleted out of the text. 14 sailors, including the head of Moskva’s medical staff, were reportedly transported to the Crimean port of Sevastopol, according to an unsubstantiated source from Ukraine. 494 other people are still unaccounted for, according to the official statement. This is the biggest number of Russian troops killed in a single occurrence since World War II if they are verified to have drowned.

Captain Anton Kuprin of the Moskva was the subject of a picture that Ukrainian interior ministry advisor Anton Gerashchenko shared on his widely followed Telegram channel. Gerashchenko said Kuprin died in the ship’s explosion and fire.

During the initial hours of Moscow’s assault, Kuprin issued the order for the Moskva to shell Snake Island in the Black Sea. Russian warship “Go Fuck Yourselves” became a national catchphrase in Ukraine when it was detained.

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