(Image found here)
We now have confirmation that the Moskva has indeed sunk:
— Illia Ponomarenko ?? (@IAPonomarenko) April 14, 2022
According to TASS the Moskva sank as a result of a storm in the Black Sea while being towed back to home port in Sevastopol.
MOSCOW, April 14. /TASS/. The Moskva missile cruiser sank while being towed amid storm because of hull damage sustained during the detonation of ammunition, Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday.
“During the towing of the Moskva cruiser to the designation port, the ship lost stability due to hull damage, sustained during the detonation of ammunition because of a fire. Amid the heavy storm, the ship sank,” the Ministry said.
The Ministry underscored that the crew was evacuated to nearby Black Sea Fleet ships, as was announced earlier.
Earlier on Thursday, Russian Defense Ministry reported that Black Sea Fleet missile cruiser Moskva sustained serious damage after a detonation of ammunition, caused by an onboard fire. The Ministry said that the crew was evacuated to nearby Black Sea Fleet ships, adding that the cause of the incident is being determined.
The Russian warship was sunk by the combined efforts of Captain Stormachenko, Lieutenant Accidentsky and Sergeant Firechuk.
— Slava Malamud ?? (@SlavaMalamud) April 14, 2022
Back in reality, earlier today the Ukrainian government finally confirmed that they had, indeed, targeted the Moskva with Neptune anti-ship missiles.
Something important to keep in mind is that Russia will not be able to replace the Moskva with another Slava class vessel because Turkey has invoked the Montreux Convention.
ISTANBUL, Feb 27 (Reuters) – NATO member Turkey changed its rhetoric to call Russia’s assault on Ukraine a “war” on Sunday and pledged to implement parts of an international pact that would potentially limit the transit of Russian warships from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea.
Kyiv had appealed to Ankara to block any more Russian ships from entering the Black Sea, from which Moscow launched an incursion on Ukraine’s southern coast. At least six Russian warships and a submarine transited Turkey’s straits this month.
“It is not a couple of air strikes now, the situation in Ukraine is officially a war… We will implement the Montreux Convention,” Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkey’s foreign minister, said in an interview with broadcaster CNN Turk.
Balancing its Western commitments and close ties to Moscow, Ankara has in recent days called the Russian attack unacceptable but until Sunday had not described the situation in Ukraine as a war.
The rhetorical shift allows Turkey to enact the articles of the 1936 Montreux Convention that permits it to limit naval transit of its Dardanelles and Bosphorus straits during wartime, or if threatened.
Since the Moskva was the only Slava class vessel with a home port on the Black Sea, if Russia wants to try to replace it with one of the others still afloat, it can’t. The Turks have closed the straits.
Much more after the jump!