Ukraine taunts Putin with new footage of rocket strike that destroyed his Black Sea flagship Moskva
Ukraine has mocked the Kremlin after releasing footage that appears to show how Neptune missile launches sank Russia’s Moskva cruiser, the flagship of Vladimir Putin’s Black Sea Fleet, a year ago today.
Kiev officials taunted their Russian counterparts over the footage that claimed to show missiles sinking the Moskva being launched.
The battleship was hit by two Neptune missiles and photographs showed a thick plume of black smoke rising from the ship as it tilted to port. The Moskva sank on April 14 last year and is now 45 meters below the surface of the Black Sea.
Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov used the birthday to ridicule the Kremlin, saying “I invite you to visit a new dive site” to visit the wreck of Putin’s warship.
Russia has since tried to cover up the sinking — one of the war’s greatest humiliations — by refusing to reveal how many died or by ordering failures that led to the loss.
The Moskva was engulfed in a fiery fire after sustaining significant damage to the left side as a thick plume of black smoke billowed from the ship, April 14 last year
Ukraine has released footage showing the mobile launches of the Neptune missile that sank the Russian cruiser Moskva
Footage showed the Neptune missiles launched into the sky last year, destined for Moskva’s flagship
“If diving enthusiasts listen to me, after the victory [in the war] I invite you to visit a new diving site in the Black Sea – the Cruiser Moskva underwater museum. I invite you and will be your guide,’ Reznikov mocked Moscow’s warmongers.
The sinking of the warship, leading to an unknown number of deaths, “did the seemingly impossible,” he added.
“It changed the course of history because it set off a chain reaction. It was the last day of the Russian fleet’s dominance in the Black Sea.’
After the sinking, the West began transferring more powerful missiles, such as harpoons, to Ukraine.
Reznikov said it led to Russian troops fleeing Snake Island in what they called a “goodwill gesture.”
Third, the liberation of Snake Island allowed us to open a “grain corridor.” The world got our products, Ukraine got defense resources.
“If Moskva had not been destroyed, this result would have been impossible.”
Meanwhile, a grieving Russian father, who branded Vladimir Putin a “traitor” after the sinking of the Moskva cruiser that killed “dozens” of mostly young sailors, has vowed to expose the truth behind a cover-up of the Kremlin’s “humiliation” to bring to light.
Only the identities of some of the lost Russian Moskva sailors are known.
Moskva sailed about 60 miles off the coast of Odessa – Ukraine’s largest port – before Moscow confirmed on April 15 that she had sunk.
The Moskva sank on April 14 last year and is now about 45 meters below the water’s surface after being hit by the two Neptune missiles
Moskva was a Soviet-era guided missile destroyer designed to defeat American aircraft carriers with large quantities of anti-aircraft and anti-aircraft missiles
As relatives celebrated the birthday, Dmitry Shkrebets, 44, whose son Yegor, 20, was killed, promised justice for those who perished.
Russia has still not provided any clarity on the number of deaths or the circumstances, instead launching a criminal investigation against the father for protesting alleged incompetence by commanders.
It is clear that many of the “dozens” of those killed were conscripts whom Putin had sworn would not be sent to the war zone, Shkrebets said.
He accused the dictator of cruel “indifference” to the Moskva dead and demanded answers to the fate of the lost men.
The attack on the Moskva “should not have taken place, but it was allowed,” said the distraught father.
“It all happened at 2:20 PM Moscow time, in the northwestern part of the Black Sea. Dozens of sailors and members of the ship’s crew have died, including my son.’
He posted a photo of the monument to his son. The ship was hit on April 13, 2022, the day Yegor died, but the ship sank on April 14.
Yegor Shkrebets, 20, a Russian conscript who died after the sinking of the Moskva cruiser last April
Yegor Shkrebets (right), 20, posed with other sailors on the Moskva cruiser four days before the tragedy
These conscripts ‘were not supposed to take part in the [special military operation] – this was publicly promised to the whole country by President Vladimir Putin,’ said the father.
“Yet they became the participants from day one, from the first military campaign of the Moskva cruiser on February 24, 2022.
‘Eternal memory to you… and peace to your shining souls. See you soon, son.’
It was hard to imagine that the Russian Armed Forces, the Fleet in general and the Black Sea Fleet in particular had to endure a greater humiliation than all those involved in the death of the Moskva flagship and its crew members, including conscripts.
‘Such humiliation is comparable to cancer, which is not brought in from the outside, but is the result of a malfunction in the body’s own cells. If it is not discovered in time, it will be difficult to fight.’
The Kremlin had expressed condolences to the relatives of the sailors who died in the Kursk submarine that sank in 2000, but “indifference” to those who perished in the Moskva in 2022, it said.
Vladimir Putin and President of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi aboard the Moskva cruiser in August 2014
Russia is tight-lipped about the fate of Moskva’s crew, but released this footage shortly after the sinking, which they say was seen during a parade in Sevastopol
Anton Kuprin (left), captain of the Moskva, salutes Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, the commander in charge of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet who commanded the ship as flagship
Footage showed the ship’s captain – Anton Kuprin (center) – parading in front of his men, estimated to number between 150 and 250. Moskva typically carries up to 510 men, and Russia did not say what happened to them
The warship should not have been near the war zone with hundreds of conscripts on board, Shkrebets said.
He faces an investigation after condemning Putin for failing to meet or acknowledge the lost Moskva sailors and appointing inept commanders, but vowed to fight on and reveal the truth once the investigation is over.
He had declared, “Putin is no longer my president. I don’t believe this man, he betrayed me. I consider him a hypocrite and a traitor to my motherland.’
Reznikov promised that Ukraine would sink more Russian warships.
“We can offer the Russians another surprise at sea, another missile [hitting] their ships,’ he said. “We’re just waiting for the right moment.”