Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
It was the warship from the iconic “Russian warship, go —- yourself”
During the early months of Russia’s full-scale attack on Ukraine, the Russian cruiser Moskva sank in the Black Sea.
At the time, Ukraine said that it had managed to hit the cruiser with two anti-ship missiles, but the Russian Ministry of Defence did not acknowledge any Ukrainian attack.
Instead, the ministry said a fire on board caused munitions to explode, leading to the ship sinking while being towed to port.
For nearly four years, this has been the official explanation from the Kremlin, but now a Russian court appears to have acknowledged that Ukraine did in fact sink the cruiser.
The press release that vanished
According to Mediazona, a Moscow military court issued a press release acknowledging for the first time that the Moskva was struck by a missile.
The press release was removed shortly after its release, but Mediazona managed to preserve the text.
The authenticity of the press release has not been independently verified, but according to Mediazona, the release stated that the court had sentenced a Ukrainian commander in absentia for ordering his subordinates to strike the Moskva and the frigate Admiral Essen on two different occasions in April 2022.
Casualty figures
According to Mediazona, the court also cited casualty figures, stating:
“Twenty crew members of the cruiser were killed by the explosion, fire, and smoke, twenty-four crew members suffered injuries of varying severity, and eight people were missing, including during the battle for the ship’s survivability, which lasted over six hours.”
One person was reported injured in the attack on the Admiral Essen.
Russian warship, go —- yourself
Moskva was part of one of the most iconic moments of the initial stages of the war in Ukraine: the Snake Island incident.
In February 2022, the tiny island in the Black Sea became world-famous after Ukrainian soldiers garrisoned on the island allegedly responded to a radio message from the Moskva by saying:
“Russian warship, go [expletive] yourself.”
Mediazona has provided screenshots of the press release before it was deleted, as well as a translation into English. You can find it here (opens new tab).
Sources: Mediazona, Reuters, AP News, The Jerusalem Post, RBC-Ukraine
