The last act of the Russian second lieutenant who died on the flagship Moscow

A Russian Eastern Orthodox priest attends a memorial service for the battleship Moscow on April 15 after learning that the ship had sunk in the Black Sea – Photo: REUTERS

“Today, we pay our last respects to Ivan Leonidovich Vakhrushev, who died a hero,” Sevastopol mayor Mikhail Razvozhayev said on Telegram channel on April 22.

According to Tass news agency, a memorial service for soldier Vakhrushev took place in Sevastopol earlier on the same day. The city is located on the Crimean peninsula (which Russia annexed in 2014) and is home to the headquarters of the Black Sea fleet.

“That soldier led his team, he evacuated the sailors after the fire started, then went back to turn off the boiler but didn’t have enough time to save himself. performed a brave act and saved the lives of hundreds of others,” said Mayor Razvozhayev.

According to the announcement of the Russian Ministry of Defense at the dawn of April 23 (Vietnam time), the consequences of the explosion of the ammunition depot on the cruiser Moscow – flagship of the Black Sea fleet – left 1 soldier dead and 27 others missing. The other 396 crew members were safely evacuated to other ships and to shore.

Some Ukrainian officials and US intelligence confirmed that the Moscow ship sank because it was hit by a Ukrainian anti-ship missile.

According to the latest Russian explanation, the sailors tried to put out the fire but failed. The battleship then sank while being towed to Sevastopol due to rough seas.

The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that it is providing all necessary support to the relatives and close friends of the dead and missing servicemen.

“After discussions between the commander of the Black Sea fleet and the crew members of the cruiser Moskva, the majority of officers, servicemen and volunteers expressed their desire to continue serving on the ships of the Russian Navy. Black Sea fleet,” the statement reads.

Some sailors want to be transferred, but will continue to serve on ships of the Russian Navy, only sailors who are conscripts will be allowed to leave the army at the end of their enlistment period.

Moscow is the flagship of the Black Sea fleet, the first built under Project 1164. The battleship was commissioned in 1983 as Slava (“Glory”) and later renamed after the capital of the Union. Russian state.

The main armament on board is 16 P-1000 Vulkan missile launchers and S-300F Fort missile defense system. During the Ukraine conflict, the cruiser Moskva acted as a command ship for a number of Black Sea operations, including the attack on Ukraine’s Snake Island.