Russia confirms that its flagship Moscow has sunk in the Black Sea

The Russian Defense Ministry initially denied that Moscow had sunk and confirmed that the fire on the warship had been extinguished. The Russian Defense Ministry said four more Russian ships were deployed to rescue the battleship Moskva, which was obstructed by the storm.

In a later statement on the night of April 14, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that the battleship Moskva “lost stability while being towed to port because of damage to the hull of the ship due to storms, as well as fire from explosive ammunition. “. In stormy weather conditions at sea, the ship sank, the statement added.

Earlier, Moscow announced that the crew with more than 500 members on the flagship Moskva had been evacuated to other ships. According to the newspaper The GuardianMoscow is the pride of Russia’s Black Sea fleet and is the ship with the highest status in the military campaign against Ukraine.

The flagship of Moscow, the pride of Russia’s Black Sea fleet. Photo: EPA

According to Maksym Marchenko, the governor of Ukraine’s Odesa region, the Moscow flagship was “severely damaged” after being hit by two Ukrainian Neptune cruise missiles.

Sources familiar with the matter say Ukraine has a limited supply of Neptune missiles and has called on the West to provide anti-ship weapons.

During a recent visit to Kiev, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged to supply British missiles to Ukraine but so far Kiev has not been delivered.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden on April 14 approved an additional $800 million military aid package for Ukraine, bringing Washington’s total military aid to Kiev to $2.6 billion since the conflict. Moscow-Kiev armed forces broke out.

CIA: The risk of Russia deploying nuclear weapons cannot be underestimated

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director Williiam Burns said on April 14 that the risk of Russia using nuclear weapons in Ukraine “cannot be taken lightly”.

However, Mr. Burns added that the CIA has not yet seen much practical evidence that Russia will use nuclear weapons.

CIA Director William Burns. Photo: Reuters

Earlier on the same day, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev warned that if Sweden and Finland join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Russia will have to strengthen its defenses, including deploying weapons. nuclear gas.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also confirmed to the news agency TASS in late March that Russia’s security policy stipulates that Moscow will only use nuclear weapons if the very existence of the country is threatened.