The photo of the burning warship “Moscow” of the Russian Navy before sinking in the Black Sea is real, said an expert.
The first validated images of the damaged cruiser, which show it tilting in the water with its back deck on, came days after Ukraine said it sank the ship in a missile attack.
Although the Kremlin has acknowledged the loss of the ship, he continues to claim that the ship was destroyed by an explosion on board and not by enemy weapons.
Siddhart Kaushal, a research associate in marine energy at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), confirmed that the latest photos show that “Moscow” was gutted by fire.
“I looked at the images and they are from Moscow,” he told The Independent.
“The location of the radar (seen in the photo), the surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missile containers and the shape of the hull seem to confirm that they are of the” Glory “class and therefore must be” Moscow “.
Moscow has not commented on the authenticity of the photos.
Although both Ukraine and Russia agree that Moscow has sunk, their accounts of how it was destroyed differ.
Ukraine’s South Operational Command said on Thursday that Moscow had begun taking in water after being hit by Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship missiles.
“In the Black Sea Operational Zone, anti-ship cruise missiles Neptune hit the cruiser Moscow, the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet – it received significant damage,” the statement said.
“Fire erupted. Other parts of the ship’s group tried to help, but a storm and a powerful explosion of ammunition overturned the cruiser and it began to sink.
However, Russia claims that the onboard board of the ammunition depot exploded, causing serious damage to the ship. This version of events was rejected by a senior US defense official, citing military intelligence.
It is not known how many Russian sailors died at Moscow. However, Novaya Gazeta Evropa reported that at least 40 people had been killed and others were still unknown.
The sinking of the decisive warship came as a massive blow to the Russian army, which has been battling fierce Ukrainian resistance since its invasion of the country on February 24.
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