Dhe Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Oleksiy Arestovych has declared the Russian warship “Moskva” (“Moscow”), which was badly damaged in the Black Sea, to have sunk. “Where is the “Moskva”? It has sunk, ”Arestovych wrote on Twitter and Telegram on Thursday. However, there was initially no confirmation of this claim. The Ukrainian national television took up Arestovych’s tweet. Russia only spoke of serious damage.
According to Kiev sources, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet was hit by two Ukrainian Neptun missiles on Wednesday evening. The Russian Ministry of Defense had confirmed damage to the ship, but only spoke of a fire and gave no cause. The entire team had been evacuated, it said in Moscow.
According to conflicting reports, the missile cruiser was hit either off the Serpent Island, which Russia had conquered, or in the Bay of Sevastopol on the annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Archive recording of the missile cruiser “Moskva” from 2014 passing through the Bosphorus
Source: pa/dpa/Can Merey
Arestovych had previously spoken on YouTube of a “surprise” in connection with the “flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet”. The Russian ship Moskva was on fire, he said.
Advisor to Ukraine’s Interior Minister Anton Herashchenko, in a social media post, suggested that the warship was hit by a Neptun missile. The Ukrainian in-house development has a range of 280 kilometers.
The Ukrainian information could not be confirmed so far. However, ammunition on one of Russia’s most important ships is unlikely to explode through crew oversight.
The more than 180 meter long “Moskva” was launched in 1979 and put into service in 1983. In 2015, the warship with its 510-strong crew was deployed in the eastern Mediterranean to protect the Russian Hmeimim airbase in Syria, according to TASS.
Source: Infographic WORLD
The warship is reportedly carrying 16 P1000 Wulkan anti-ship missiles and a variety of other weapon systems, including anti-submarine weapons.
At the beginning of the war almost seven weeks ago, the “Moskva” is said to have been involved in the conquest of the Ukrainian island of snakes, among other things. The events around it gained worldwide attention because the “Moskva” is said to have asked the Ukrainian soldiers to surrender with the words “This is a Russian warship”. The soldiers are said to have replied: “Russian warship, f… you!”
Just two days ago, the Ukrainian postal service issued a stamp depicting this event and depicting the “Moskva”.
According to their own statements, Ukrainian armed forces also repelled eight Russian attacks in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk during the night. “In particular, Ukrainian defenders destroyed one enemy tank, four armored vehicles and six other vehicles,” the Ukrainian military said in a statement.
However, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, more and more Russian military convoys are making their way to southeastern Ukraine. Rocket, bomb and artillery attacks would be continued by the attackers, says Zelenskyj in his evening video address.
In addition, the Russians apparently tried to mobilize Ukrainian residents in the temporarily occupied areas in districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. “They are trying to bring residents of the southern regions of our country into their ranks,” the president said.
In view of a likely Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine, Great Britain expects further heavy attacks on the region’s civilian infrastructure. “Urban centers have faced repeated ruthless Russian attacks throughout the conflict,” Britain’s Defense Ministry said on Thursday. “The cities of Kramatorsk and Kostyantynivka are likely to be Russian targets for similar acts of violence.”
Kramatorsk is a regional center for the evacuation of war refugees. More than 50 people were killed in a rocket attack on the city’s train station on Friday. Kostyantynivka is located south of Kramatorsk.
Meanwhile, according to Ukrainian sources, four civilians have been killed by Russian airstrikes in Kharkiv in north-eastern Ukraine. At least ten others were injured, regional governor Oleg Synegubow told Telegram on Wednesday. The “occupiers” again bombed residential areas of Kharkiv.
With around 1.5 million inhabitants, Kharkiv is the second largest city in Ukraine and is only around 40 kilometers from the Russian border. The city has been fiercely contested since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began on February 24. So far, the Russian troops have not managed to capture them.
A firefighter puts out a fire that broke out after Russian military shelling in Kharkiv
Source: dpa/Andrew Marienko
In view of the expected large-scale offensive by Russia in eastern Ukraine, both the European Union and the USA are significantly increasing their military support for Kyiv. The United States plans to supply Ukraine with up to $800 million more in arms and ammunition, including artillery, armored vehicles and helicopters.
US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday after talks with Zelenskyy that the government in Washington would continue to equip Ukraine with the ability to defend itself.
The US government has already pledged or delivered weapons worth US$ 2.5 billion to Ukraine since the Russian war of aggression began in late February. Since the beginning of last year, US aid for Kyiv has totaled around $3.2 billion.
Other NATO member states and allies have also supplied arms and equipment to Ukraine, including Britain and Germany. The EU, in turn, only decided on Wednesday to release a further 500 million euros for arms deliveries to Kyiv.
Biden said, “The Ukrainian military has used the weapons we have provided to them with devastating effect.” US and allied arms supplies have been critical to Ukraine’s ability to withstand the Russian onslaught. “You helped with that [der russische Präsident Wladimir] Putin has failed in his original goals of conquering and controlling Ukraine.”
The new deliveries are intended to support Ukraine, especially in view of the feared large-scale Russian attack in the eastern Donbass region. In addition to the weapons already delivered, Ukraine would now be given additional capabilities, including artillery systems and armored vehicles. Ukraine should also get “additional helicopters” – the USA had last confirmed the delivery of helicopters before the war.
Evacuations from the east and south
The Ukrainian government has announced the reopening of escape corridors from the port city of Mariupol and other contested areas in the east and south of the country. “Nine humanitarian corridors are planned for today,” Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk told Telegram on Thursday. The day before, the evacuations had been suspended for security reasons, according to Ukrainian sources.
According to the information, a first escape corridor is to be set up between Mariupol and Zaporizhia. People are also to be brought to Zaporizhia from Berdyansk, Tokmak and Energodar. Further escape routes are said to lead from Severodonetsk, Lyssychansk, Popasna, Hirske and Rubischne to Bakhmut.
“Kick-off Politics” is WELT’s daily news podcast. The most important topic analyzed by WELT editors and the dates of the day. Subscribe to the podcast at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or directly via RSS feed.