Another 396 crew members were evacuated on nearby ships and sent to Sevastopol, a Crimean city, Russia’s TASS news agency reported. The Russian government did not acknowledge any casualties on Tuesday. The cruise missile cruiser “Moscow” sank on April 14, although the reason remains controversial.
Ukraine claims to have hit Moscow with anti-ship cruise missiles, sparking a fire that detonated stored ammunition. “Moscow” was armed with a number of anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles, as well as torpedoes, naval guns and missile defense systems, which means that there would be huge quantities of explosives on board.
However, the Russian Ministry of Defense claims that a fire of unknown origin detonated the ammunition and the subsequent explosions left Moscow with structural damage. It says the warship then sank in stormy seas while being towed to a nearby port.
Photos and a short video surfaced early Monday on social media, showing that Moscow was badly damaged and on fire in the hours before it sank. The images show the list of Moscow on one side, with black holes of possible traces of missile drilling and significant scars just above the waterline on the port side (left) in the middle of the ship. The Kremlin said on Monday that it had seen the photos of Moscow, but could not verify them.
Whatever the reason, the sinking of the Moscow is a serious military disgrace for Russia, as it was the largest naval loss in 40 years. “Moscow” was one of the most visible assets of the Russian navy in the war in Ukraine, and its loss could affect the morale of Russian troops.
CNN’s Brad Landon and Ivana Kotasova contributed to this report.
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