Russian warship seriously damaged, Ukraine announced an ambush?

Governor of the Odesa region in the South Ukraine reported that the country’s military fired a missile that hit a warship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Odesa Governor Maksym Marchenko wrote on Telegram: “The Black Sea defense Neptune anti-ship missile has caused serious damage to the Russian ship.”

An adviser to the Ukrainian president, Oleksiy Arestovych, also said a surprise had happened to the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. “The fire is very strong. With a storm at sea, it is unlikely that the 510 people on board can be helped in time,” – Mr. Arestovych said.

Ukrainian officials claimed that a battery of its Neptune anti-ship missiles in Odesa hit the cruiser Moskva twice, setting the Russian ship on fire.

However, they failed to provide any proof. Forbes said that only an audio recording, believed to be by the Ukrainian military reporting the attack on the cruiser, went viral on social media.

The Russian missile cruiser Moskva during a naval exercise in the Black Sea. Photo: Sputnik

On the Russian side, it said there was a “fire” occurred. Specifically, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that its ship Moskva was seriously damaged after a fire caused an explosion in an ammunition depot.

Channel RT Citing a statement from the Russian Defense Ministry, the entire crew of the battleship Moscow was safely evacuated. The Russian Defense Ministry has opened an investigation to clarify the cause of the explosion.

Moscow is a Slava-class warship, launched in 1979, armed with 16 anti-ship missiles and many anti-aircraft missiles, torpedoes, and advanced gunboat systems.

This is a warship of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy. From February 2022, this ship performed missions in Russia’s special military operation off the coast of Ukraine.

If confirmed, it would be Ukraine’s biggest anti-ship feat in nearly two months of fighting. Photo: Russian Ministry of Defense

Before the fighting, Ukraine was said to have only one battery of Neptune missiles. This shows that Ukrainian forces must gather to deploy a complete battery, including many supporting devices such as radars and drones – something that is not easy.

If confirmed, it would be Ukraine’s biggest anti-ship feat in nearly two months of fighting. Earlier, Ukraine said that it had sunk an amphibious ship in the port of Berdyansk, causing Russia to lose its weapons batch.