Russia's MoD refutes Ukraine claims of damaging modern navy logistics ship in Black Sea

Amid the intense battle between Russia and Ukraine, the Russian Defence Ministry on Saturday refuted the claims of Ukraine wherein it said it had damaged a modern navy logistics ship in the Black Sea. In the photographs published online, the Russian MoD said the vessel has no signs of damage. The "clarification" came nearly two days after the Ukrainian Defence Ministry claimed it had struck the Vsevolod Bobrov. Serhiy Bratchuk, a spokesman for the Odesa Regional Military Administration, said that the ship was damaged and set on fire as a result of a Ukrainian strike, Ukrinform reported on Thursday.

"As a result of the actions of our Navy, the Vsevolod Bobrov support ship, one of the newest in the Russian fleet, set on fire. They say she is limping toward Sevastopol," Ukrinform quoted Bratchuk as saying.

However, refuting these claims, the Russian MoD said it published the photos that had been taken in the Crimean Black Sea port of Sevastopol. The Russian ministry claimed that the photograph was taken on Saturday. Earlier last month, Ukraine claimed it had hit a Russian warship in the Black Sea with missiles, resulting in significant damage to the vessel. On the other hand, the Russian officials 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.

Russia claims fire for the destruction of Moskva

According to Russia, they had successfully evacuated the officials onboard, whereas Ukrainian officials said Russia had struggled 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 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.

Image: AP/Unsplash