Russian Black Sea fleet Moskva was sunk by Ukrainian forces on 14 April, in a major blow to the Russian invasion. It was reportedly hit by two R-360 Neptune anti-ship missiles fired by Ukrainian forces.
The Moskva was a guided missile cruiser of the Russian Navy.
Days after the news of the cruiser being sunk, new pictures of the final days of the cruiser have emerged online.
The pictures are not yet verified. However they bear witness to the extent of fire on the Russian warship, the latter becoming a potential threat to Ukrainian defiance during the initial days of the war.
The ongoing invasion of Ukraine has “escalated into World War III", a Russian television declared on Friday after the Russian warship sank in the Black Sea due to a massive blow. Presenter Olga Skabeyeva of Rossiya 1 stressed that Russia was fighting against NATO infrastructure.
Ukraine’s two Neptune anti-ship cruise missiles hit 529-crew Moskva after which it sank. However, Russia denied this claim and stated that Moskva suffered damage from an accidental fire and ammunition explosion.
The US and other Western officials were unable to confirm what caused the blaze. Named for the Russian capital, Moskva's loss is a devastating symbolic defeat for Moscow as its troops regroup for a renewed offensive.
Following the sinking of the vessel, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Ukrainians they should be proud of having survived 50 days under attack when the Russians “gave us a maximum of five."
What was Russian cruiser Moskva?
Launched during the Cold War, Moskva served during conflicts in n Georgia, Syria, and Ukraine pushing the Russian military forward. Equipped to carry 16 long-range cruise missiles, the warship was 611.5 feet (186 meters) long and housed a crew of 476 with an additional 62 officers.
The warship was launched as the Slava from a shipyard in Mykolaiv in what was then the Soviet republic of Ukraine in July 1979, according to open-source intelligence firm Janes. The Slava served as the flagship of the Soviet fleet in the Black Sea. It carried both surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles, deck guns, torpedoes, and mortars. It also had a helicopter deck.
The Slava underwent repairs from 1990-1999. During that time, the Soviet Union collapsed, an independent Ukraine emerged and Russia’s economy foundered. Finally overhauled and rechristened as the Moskva. During Russia’s war in its former republic of Georgia in 2008, the Moskva took part in operations in the Black Sea, and Georgia said it was involved in an attack on the country.
In 2014, as Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula, the Moskva blocked Ukrainian naval vessels from leaving Lake Donuzlav. In 2015-16, it was deployed to the Mediterranean Sea to provide support for the Russian military campaign backing Syrian President Bashar Assad.
In February 2022, the cruiser left Sevastopol to participate in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The ship was later used against the Ukrainian armed forces during the attack on Snake Island, together with the Russian patrol boat Vasily Bykov. Moskva hailed the island's garrison over the radio and demanded its surrender, and was told "Russian warship, go fuck yourself". After this, all contact was lost with Snake Island, and the thirteen-member Ukrainian garrison was captured.
