Ukraine claims to hit flagship of Black Sea fleet; Russia says 'damaged due to fire'

Amid the intense battle between Moscow and Kyiv, Ukraine on Wednesday claimed to hit a Russian warship in the Black Sea with missiles, resulting in significant damage to the vessel. On the other hand, the Russian officials have acknowledged that the flagship of its Black Sea fleet was seriously damaged but added it was not due to the missile attack. The Russian officials claimed that the Moskva-- a guided missile cruiser of the Russian Navy-- was carrying ammunition stockpiles in the Black Sea when a fire erupted on the vessel.

According to Russia, they have successfully evacuated the officials onboard, whereas Ukrainian officials said Russia was struggling to rescue the estimated 510 crew members. "Ammunition on board detonated as a result of a fire. The vessel is seriously damaged. The entire crew have been evacuated. The cause of the blaze is being investigated," read a statement from the Russian Defence Ministry. According to Russia, the Moskva is a missile cruiser that was built and commissioned in 1982. However, Odesa region Governor Maksym Marchenko said Ukrainian forces struck the guided-missile cruiser Moskva with two "Neptune" missiles that caused serious damage.

It is to mention that the warship rose to fame earlier in February this year after the Ukrainian soldiers who were guarding the Snake Island denied surrender in front of Russian troops. They told the Russian ship to "go to hell". Initially, the Ukrainian officials denied that their soldiers had not surrendered and were killed in the conflict. However, the media reports claimed they were taken prisoner in Russia-annexed Crimea.

Kremlin acknowledges Russian loss and calls it "a huge tragedy"

According to Ukrainian Army's General Staff, Moscow has been facing a tremendous loss in the war. As per the latest update, Moscow has lost an estimated 19,300 troops and more than 720 war tanks ever since the onset of the invasion. Meanwhile, speaking to Sky News on Thursday, Peskov termed the Russian troops’ casualties “a huge tragedy.” "We have significant losses of troops. It’s a huge tragedy for us," he said. Furthermore, the Kremlin spokesperson noted that he sees no possibility of Russian President Vladimir Putin ending up in a war crime case.   

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