‘Go f*** yourself’ Russian warship is BLOWN UP: Cruiser Moskva explodes after being hit by Ukrainian missile weeks after opening fire on Snake Island defenders who swore as they refused to surrender
- Governor of Odesa said Wednesday that two Ukrainian missiles hit the Moskva
- Russia’s Interfax news agency later quoted Moscow’s defence ministry as saying the crew had all been evacuated and the cause of the fire was being investigated
- The Moskva (Moscow) is a soviet-era 600-foot, 12,500 tonne missile cruiser
- It gained notoriety at the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine when Ukrainian border troops defending ‘Snake Island’ told the warship to ‘go f**k yourself’
The most important ship in Russia’s Black Sea fleet, the Moskva missile cruiser, was badly damaged after ammunition on board blew up, Russia said on Thursday.
Earlier, the governor of Odesa said Ukrainian forces had damaged the warship with missile strikes on Wednesday, but did not give any evidence for the claim.
But Russia’s Interfax news agency later quoted Moscow’s defence ministry as saying the crew had all been evacuated and the cause of the fire was being investigated. Interfax reported ammunition on-board had detonated.
‘Neptune missiles guarding the Black Sea caused very serious damage to the Russian ship. Glory to Ukraine!’ Odesa governor Maksym Marchenko wrote on Telegram.
Ukrainian presidential advisor Oleksiy Arestovych said that ‘a surprise happened with the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet’, the Moskva – a 600-foot, 12,500 tonne Project 1164 Slava class guided missile cruiser that was first launched in 1979.
‘It burns strongly. Right now. And with this stormy sea it is unknown whether they will be able to receive help. There are 510 crew members,’ he said in a YouTube broadcast. ‘We don’t understand what happened.’
The Mosvka (Moscow) gained notoriety early in Moscow’s war when Ukrainian border troops defending the strategic ‘Snake Island’ were heard in a viral audio recording telling the warship to ‘go f**k yourself’ after its crew called on them to surrender.
Last month Ukraine said it had destroyed a large Russian landing support ship, the Orsk, on the smaller Sea of Azov to the northeast of the Black Sea.
Moscow has not commented on what had happened to the ship, but satellite imagery showed a large vessel destroyed and partially sunk in a port.
This is a breaking news story. More to follow…
The most important ship in Russia’s Black Sea fleet, the Moskva (pictured, file photo) missile cruiser, was badly damaged after ammunition on board blew up, Russia said on Thursday
Border guard Roman Gribov right, who served on Snake Island and on the first day of Russia’s invasion, became famous for his response to an ultimatum from the Russian missile cruiser Moskva, shouting to the invaders: ‘Russian warship, go f**k yourself’. He later returned home from captivity and was awarded a medal (pictured)
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