The war in Ukraine has been going on for almost two months and it has already created a number of symbols. The skeletons of houses and heaps of rubble in Mariupol symbolize the physical devastation of Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities. The name Bucha has become synonymous with atrocities and war crimes committed against Ukrainian civilians. And the pictures of Zelenskiy’s appearances in the bunker document all of his requests, appeals and requests to Western states to help Ukraine with the heaviest possible weapons.
Now another symbol has been added, gray and 180 meters long: the Russian missile cruiser Moscow, in German: Moscow. It is also typical of this war that Russia and Ukraine tell different views of what happened. But that the strategically important flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet has sunk is no longer in doubt, even after Moscow’s confirmation. For Russia, this is a heavy loss and a heavy blow.
Russia cannot simply replace the decades-old ship, which has been decorated and modernized several times. This ship is symbolic of other surprising losses in this war and of how vulnerable the overwhelming force is at times. Conversely, the sinking of the Russian flagship should give Ukraine a considerable moral boost. Probably only for a short time, however: because there are simply too many fronts in this war, and the Ukrainian capital could very quickly be in the sights of Russian troops again. The joy might be short-lived.