Ukraine releases audio from Russian cruiser 'Moskva' before it sank in Black Sea

A month after the Russian naval flagship, Moskva, capsized in the Black Sea, the Ukrainian military on Sunday published audio from the sinking of the cruiser. In the audio clip, a crew member can be heard saying that the ship has been hit twice and that it is tilting on its side, The Kyiv Independent reported. The said audio clip was shared by Ukraine's Operational Command “South”  on its official Facebook page. Notably, the Russian cruiser was destroyed by Ukrainian forces on April 14.

Ukraine claimed it fired two R-360 Neptune anti-ship missiles at the ship; however, Russia claimed it sank owing to a fire. As per reports, Moskva is the first Russian flagship sunk since the 1905 Russo-Japanese War and the largest Russian battleship sunk after World War II. Earlier on April 18, photographs of the final days of the Moskva had surfaced on social media. The images indicated the magnitude of the firing on the Russian cruiser by the Ukrainian forces. The images also showed damage to the left side of the vessel, as well as flames burning below deck and a heavy pall of black smoke billowing into the sky.

About the Russian cruiser Moskva

Moskva, which was launched at the time of the Cold War, pushed the Russian military forward during confrontations in Georgia, Syria, and Ukraine. The destroyer, which measured 611.5 feet (186 metres) in length and carried a crew of 476 men and 62 officers, was equipped with 16 long-range cruise missiles. The battleship was launched as the Slava from a shipyard in Mykolaiv in what was then the Soviet republic of Ukraine in July 1979, according to open-source intelligence firm Janes. In the Black Sea, the Slava served as the Soviet fleet's flagship. It has surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missiles, as well as deck guns, torpedoes, and mortars. There was also a helicopter deck on board.

Russia intensified naval activity in Black Sea: Ukraine

It is pertinent to mention here that the war between Russia and Ukraine continues to escalate with no signs of cessation anywhere in sight. Earlier this month, Ukraine claimed that Russia has intensified its naval activity in the Black Sea. The press service of Ukraine's Operational Command further noted that the latest development in the Black Sea has increased the threat of possible missile strikes on the Ukrainian territory.

(Image: AP)