According to Russian state media, Russia’s flagship Black Sea missile cruiser has been “seriously damaged” and its crew has been forced to evacuate.
According to the defense ministry, the Moskva’s ammunition exploded in an unexplained fire, but the 186-metre (610-foot) vessel was still afloat.
Ukraine claims it hit the ship with two Neptune missiles.
The warship, which has 510 crew members, has led Russia’s naval assault on Ukraine, making it a significant symbolic and military target.
Earlier in the conflict, the Moskva gained notoriety for calling on Ukrainian border troops defending Snake Island in the Black Sea to surrender, to which they responded with a memorable radio message that loosely translates as “go to hell.”
What are both sides saying?
Overnight Russia’s defence ministry put out a statement that said “the vessel is seriously damaged. The entire crew have been evacuated”.
By Thursday afternoon the defence ministry said a fire onboard had been contained and that it would be towing the warship back to port, adding that it was still afloat.
Moscow blamed the blast on an unexplained fire, making no mention of any missile strike.
But Ukraine says it’s responsible for the attack on the cruiser, which it claims it targeted with recently-introduced Ukrainian made missile, and that at one point the cruiser even started to sink.
In a Facebook post, Ukrainian officials said Russian rescue efforts had been hampered by ammunition exploding on board and bad weather.
The BBC has not been able to verify either claim.
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Imposing symbol of Russian power
We filmed the Moskva three years ago off the coast of Crimea, the peninsula Moscow annexed from Ukraine.
That day the missile cruiser was leading Navy Day celebrations. Among the Russian warships assembled there, the 12,500-tonne Moskva was an imposing sight.
Now the Russian military has admitted that the Moskva has been “seriously damaged” by a fire that caused ammunition to detonate.
No word about the cause.
In an update, the ministry later reported that the fire had been brought under control.
The incident has not been dominating news bulletins here. Russian TV’s Channel 1 led its lunchtime news with claims of “more Ukrainian soldiers surrendering” to Russian forces. The programme devoted just a few seconds to what happened to the Moskva.
Whatever the cause, the damage to the Moskva is bad news for Moscow. It is the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, and, as such, a symbol of Russia’s military power.
