On Thursday, Ukrainian military officials from the port city of Odesa claimed that they had sunk Russia’s flagship navy vessel, Moskva, in a missile attack. However, the Russian Defence Ministry refuted this claim, saying that the ship sunk following a fire caused by the detonation of ammunition.
Earlier on Wednesday, Maksym Marchenko, the governor of Odesa, affirmed that two of Ukraine’s missiles had dealt “very serious damage” to Moskva, a claim supported by other officials in Kyiv. Later, Ukraine’s Southern Command asserted that it had hit the Russian ship with Neptune anti-ship cruise missiles, noting that the vessel had received “significant damage.”
This leaked image shows what really happened to the Moskva. pic.twitter.com/3pnFAVDJfS
— George Allison (@geoallison) April 15, 2022
In contrast, the Russian military stated that “the ship lost stability due to hull damage, sustained during the detonation of ammunition because of a fire” that was caused by a “blast of the broadside munitions.” It claimed that the Moskva cruiser could not stay afloat during the heavy storm and eventually sank. Russia noted that all crew members aboard the ship were safely evacuated to the nearby Black Sea Fleet ships, adding that an inquiry into the origins of the fire is under way.
Major media outlets have revealed that they were not able to independently verify the information provided by the governments of Russia and Ukraine.
However, following the fire on Moskva, other Russian vessels in the northern Black Sea retreated further south, indicating a defensive change that is unlikely to have been caused by self-inflicted damage.
In an address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the various people who have resisted against the Russian attack, particularly the soldiers “who have shown that Russian ships can only go to the bottom,” in reference to the incident.
Russian filmmaker Vladimir Bortko practically weeps on national TV when discussing the sunk Moskva warship, shouting that this is a “real casus belli” for war against Ukraine. Except, oops, the Russian military blames it on exploded ammunition. Get your stories straight, guys! pic.twitter.com/JSDiJDI5aE
— Kevin Rothrock (@KevinRothrock) April 15, 2022
United States (US) National Security Adviser (NSA) Jake Sullivan called the incident “a big blow to Russia,” underscoring that Washington is working to verify the credibility of Kyiv’s claims.
Moskva was first commissioned in the 1980s and since then has provided support to Russian forces in Georgia in 2008, Crimea in 2014, Syria in 2015, and now in Ukraine. It gained notoriety in the ongoing conflict following its involvement in an attack on Ukraine’s Zmiinyi, also known as Snake Island. Ukrainian forces posted on the island refused to surrender, even saying “Russian warship, go f*** yourself,” to the members of Moskva’s forces. Later, an audio recording of this exchange went viral on social media, serving as a crucial morale boost for the Ukrainian forces. The sinking of the ship is also expected to have a similar effect.
The Institute for the Study of War (IOW), a US-based research organisation, noted that regardless of the credibility of the claims, the sinking of Moskva will be a “major propaganda victory for Ukraine” and will likely bring down Russian morale. However, the IOW said that militarily, the loss of the ship will have no impact on Russia.