Ukraine Knocks Out Flagship Of Russia's Black Sea Fleet

Russia’s Defense Ministry says the fire at the Moskva cruiser, the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, has been contained. It says the vessel remains afloat and will be towed to the port, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

Photo Insert: Accounts of the incident conflict as Ukraine claims that it was a Neptune surface to sea missile that sunk the Moskva, while Russia attributes it to hull damage received during a fire from the detonation of ammunition.

The ministry said in a statement Thursday that there is no open fire at the ship anymore and explosions of the ammunitions have ceased. “The main missile weapons were not damaged,” the statement read.

Ukrainian officials claimed that the ship has sunk, saying it’s a “resounding slap in the face” to Moscow’s forces. The conflicting accounts couldn’t be immediately reconciled.

Ukraine said two Neptune cruise missiles slammed against the Moskva, causing a huge fire that destroyed the ammunition stored on the vessel. Oleksiy Arestovych, adviser to the Ukrainian president’s office, said in a Facebook post that 510 crew were onboard the Moskva cruiser as it sank in the Black Sea, following serious damage from a Ukrainian missile strike.

Military analyst Oleg Zhdanov said the damaging of the Moskva significantly raises the morale of Ukrainian forces on the eve of a new wave of Russian offensive in the Donbas. In the early hours of Thursday, the Russian Defense Ministry said the ship sustained “serious damage” after its ammunition detonated “as the result of a fire.”

The ministry did not ascribe the fire to a missile strike but admitted evacuating the ship's 510-man crew, which means the warship suffered a devastating hit.

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