April 14, 2022, 10:39 PM
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All crew members of the Moskva, a Russian guided-missile cruiser, have reportedly abandoned ship after it sustained heavy damage.
The Ukrainians have claimed credit for hitting the ship with a couple of missiles, while the Russians say the damage was caused by a fire and ammunition explosion.
The New York Times reported on Apr. 14 that the Moskva, the flagship of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, had been seriously damaged.
It cited Russia's Ministry of Defence, via Russian state news agency Tass, which said that ammunition had exploded on the ship due to a fire, and the cause of said fire was under investigation.
However, the head of the defence forces in the Ukrainian city of Odesa, Maxim Marchenko, said on Telegram that Ukrainian forces had struck the Moskva with anti-ship Neptune missiles.
The Neptune anti-ship missile is Ukrainian designed and made, and intended to defend Ukraine's coasts.
Admiral James Stavridis, former Supreme Allied Commander NATO, pointed out that both reports could be true.
Russian flag ship destroyed. Why? Either gross incompetence by crew handling ammunition or missile strike from Ukraine. My experience says maybe both.Fires start with a strike and crew unable to contain damage. Admiral Putin must be throwing coffee mugs in the Navy mess in Moscow pic.twitter.com/Jo6zf2pEUZ
— Admiral James Stavridis, USN, Ret. (@stavridisj) April 14, 2022
Moskva might be the same ship that shelled Snake Island
Marchenko also said that the Moskva was the same ship that shelled Snake Island near the start of the war, and was told by Ukrainian defenders to "f*ck off".
The Guardian also said the Moskva was the same ship that attacked Snake Island, and quoted Ukrainian presidential aide Oleksiy Arestovych, who said that the 12,500 tonne ship could have as many as 510 personnel on board.
Reuters reported that the crew was evacuated and the stricken ship would be towed back to port.
Top image from Jayden Donofrio Twitter.
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