Moscow The missile cruiser “Moskva”, the pride of the Russian Black Sea fleet and one of the most important warships in the country, is said to have had a crew of around 500 men. But even a week after the sinking of the flagship, which was noted around the world, there are still contradicting statements about the causes of a fire on board.
The whereabouts of the sailors is particularly puzzling. Searching relatives speak up in social networks, report dead, injured and missing. The Russian Ministry of Defense had claimed that the “entire crew” had been saved. But there are many doubts about the presentation.
“All information in this regard gives the Ministry of Defense. We are not authorized to share anything here,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov coolly. His employer is President Vladimir Putin, commander-in-chief of the Russian armed forces and the most powerful man in the country.
After the sinking of the Moskva, which was announced last Thursday, Peskov had to say no when asked whether Putin wanted to shed more light on the matter with a visit to the Black Sea Fleet. All military affairs.
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Nonetheless, it was Putin who ordered the invasion of Ukraine on February 24. In the Black Sea, the “Moskva” was also used for the war until, according to Ukrainian data, it was hit by two “Neptun” rockets. Kyiv celebrates the sunken ship as a triumph in the war against Moscow. A postage stamp showing a Ukrainian soldier with a raised finger on the coast overlooking the “Moskva” is now selling like hot cakes.
Ukraine assumes many dead on the “Moskva”.
And a radio message previously dedicated to the cruiser: “Russki wojenny korabl, idi na chui!” – (in German: “Russian warship, piss off!”) is a dictum in the country. Ukraine assumes many dead on the “Moskva”.
This satellite photo provided by Maxar Technologies shows the missile cruiser Moskva in the port of Sevastopol.
(Photo: dpa)
Russian-language media critical of the Kremlin have even spoken to parents and women who are looking for their sons and husbands. They tell of the dead, seriously injured and missing.
A woman told the online newspaper Novaya Gazeta. Europe,” her son told her about a rocket hit on board – and about 40 dead and many injured. The Meduza portal, citing its own source close to the Black Sea Fleet command, reported that 37 crew members had died and around 100 were injured.
In an urgent appeal on the Russian network Vkontakte, Crimean resident Dmitry Shkrebez addressed the public “so that the truth may prevail in this story”. The man from Yalta misses his son, a conscript who should not have been sent to war under Russian law. Believing him dead, he posted a photo of his son and a video message: “Son, I love you. We are always united.” There are many such fates with names and places.
Video raises questions
A video by the Black Sea Fleet has been under discussion for days, showing the commander of the Navy, Nikolai Yevmenov, visiting the men in Sevastopol. The Black Sea Fleet is based in the city on the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014. Observers counted only about 100 sailors in the typical black uniforms on the video. The whereabouts of the captain are also unclear.
Yevmenov walks down the ranks and says the officers would continue to serve in the fleet, according to Russian military television station Zvezda TV. Sadness is written all over the crew’s faces. A mourning wreath can be seen in pictures of the ceremony distributed on the Internet – for the ship and the “sailors”, it says.
Officially, however, there is still talk of a fire on board, in which ammunition also exploded. As a result, the ship was damaged and sank while being brought into port.
Clouds of smoke can be seen in pictures and videos that appeared on the Internet after the sinking – and the ship with a list in the water. Putin’s spokesman Peskov only said that they had seen it in the Kremlin, but could not say whether the recordings were authentic.
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The interest in the case is also enormous in Russia – and the anger that the giant empire, so proud of its war fleet, has now lost its flagship ship. Putin has repeatedly received state guests on the cruiser, including Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
“I’m mad with rage,” even the Kremlin propagandist Vladimir Solovyov scolded on a show, to the delight of the Ukrainians. “Please explain how you lost her.” How the hell? thundered the Western-sanctioned state media representative. Solovyov, who himself also questioned Ukraine’s right to exist, even mentioned the Ukrainian “Neptune” rockets, which are said to have destroyed the “Moskva”.
He asked how it could be that a missile cruiser could not intercept missiles. Was the defense perhaps not active? Or a fire? Why was there no fire protection? In the end, Solovyov said it didn’t matter, the loss was a heavy blow.
The video of the raging Solovyov, who is otherwise hated there, spread rapidly on social networks in Ukraine. They couldn’t play it often enough, some Ukrainians said with satisfaction.
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