The Russian navy’s Black Sea flagship, the Moskva missile cruiser, has been “seriously damaged,” Russian state media Interfax reported early on Thursday, with Ukraine claiming it had struck it with missiles.
The Moskva is the same ship a Ukrainian soldier memorably told to “go fuck yourself” during its attack on Snake Island at the beginning of the Russian invasion.
“As a result of a fire, ammunition detonated on the Moskva missile cruiser,” the Russian defense ministry claimed, adding that all crew aboard the warship, one of the Russian navy’s most significant, had been evacuated. According to the Interfax report, Russia is investigating the cause of the fire.
But Maksym Marchenko, the head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration, which is located on the Black Sea, claimed on social media that Ukraine had taken out the Mosvka: “Neptune missiles guarding the Black Sea caused very serious damage to the Russian ship,” Marchenko said on Telegram. As yet, Ukraine has not provided evidence of its attack.