Russian Warship, You Know What To Do
At the very beginning of the current invasion of Ukraine, the Russian cruiser Moskva was told in no uncertain words to “go fuck itself” by the heroic defenders of Snake Island.
It appears now that the warship has followed that advice.
As of 1 PM Pacific time, Russian state-owned media TASS confirms that the Moskva has sunk . They are claiming that storm damage caused the vessel to capsize.
The beleaguered Russian navy suffered a catastrophic blow yesterday as Western defense agencies confirm heavy damage to the Moskva, Russia’s powerful flagship cruiser in the Black Sea Fleet.
Despite lacking a Navy, the Ukrainian defenders have so far managed to sink two major Russian warships in the month and a half since Russia most recently invaded.
The damage to the Moskva follows the sinking of a Russian amphibious landing ship two weeks ago in the port city of Berdyansk, not far from the besieged city of Mariupol.
Initially reported by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, the Moskva was said to have been completely sunk after being struck by two Ukrainian-made Neptune missiles.
First deployed in 2021, the Neptune is a homegrown Ukrainian anti-ship missile system. The current Russian invasion is the first time the missiles have been reported in use.
It is rumored that the Ukrainian military used a Bayraktar TB-2 drone to distract the Moskva’s tracking equipment, providing a decoy and allowing the Neptunes to skim the surface of the sea undetected to their target.
The Turkish Bayraktar TB-2 drones have been hailed by the Ukrainian defenders as a godsend, and multiple songs have been written and released praising the machine.
Early in the morning hours, Odessa governor Maksim Marchenko confirmed in a Telegram post that the warship had been seriously damaged by Ukrainian missile strikes.
Heavy storms had reduced visibility on the Black Sea for much of the night, making confirmation of the damage difficult. Both US and Russian agencies are now revealing that the vessel remains afloat, although barely. Heavy listing is also reported as weather conditions clear up.
It is rumored that many of the 500 sailors onboard were lost, while others abandoned ship after the ship’s ammunition magazines reportedly caught on fire.
Russia denies any missile strikes, instead claiming that mechanical difficulties had caused the ship to spontaneously dismantle itself. Russia state-owned media says the ship is being towed to a friendly port for evaluation.
In further unconfirmed reports, the admiral in charge of the Black Sea Fleet, Igor Osipov, has supposedly been arrested by Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Since the invasion of Ukraine, Turkey has denied Russia access to the Bosporus, the straight running through Istanbul that ultimately connects the Mediterranean to the Black Sea. With the Mediterranean Fleet unable to provide reinforcements for the foreseeable future, the damage to the Moskva is a critical blow to Russian sea power in the Black Sea.
As Russia reels from supply chain issues forcing their war machine production to halt, the loss of such a major component of the Black Sea Fleet is one giant leap to Ukrainian victory over the Russian invaders.
