Dozens of Russians gather in Crimea to mourn the sinking of Moskva in the Black Sea

Dozens of people gathered on Friday in the city of Sevastopol, in Crimea, to mourn the sinking of the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet of Russia, a symbol, heard the crowd, of hope, rebirth and power until its demise.

Some embraced and others laid flowers in memory of the Moskva missile cruiser at a monument to the founding of the Russian navy in 1696 in the center of Sevastopol, headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet.

Moscow, which annexed Crimea to Ukraine in 2014, said the ship sank while being towed in stormy seas after a fire caused by an explosion of ammunition.

Ukraine said one of its missiles caused it to sink, a claim ratified by the Pentagon.

Reuters was unable to verify the exact circumstances of the ship's disappearance.

“Even for those who have not been in it, Moskva was a symbol for everyone, a symbol of our power, of our hope, of the revival of the fleet in the 1990s,” after the collapse of the Soviet Union, said the Reserve Captain. Sergei Gorbachev, who spoke to the crowd in his naval uniform.

“There will be victories, there will be tragedies, but the memory will remain,” Gorbachev said.

The crowd, which included several people serving on the ship, remained in a respectful silence. Some wore the ribbon of St. George, symbol of the Russian army.

“The loss of all ships, especially a flagship, is a tragedy for all those tens of thousands of people who served there for more than 20 years,” said priest Georgiy Ployakov.

Russia's Moskva warship was hit by two Ukrainian missiles before sinking into the Black Sea, a senior Pentagon official said Friday, calling it a “big blow” to Moscow.

Reporting to journalists on condition of anonymity, the official confirmed Kiev's account of the incident, which according to Russia was caused by the explosion of ammunition on board.

“We assess that he was hit with two Neptunes,” the official said, referring to the Ukrainian anti-ship cruise missiles.

He said it was believed that the attacks caused casualties, but that it was “difficult to assess how many,” adding that the United States had observed survivors recovering other Russian ships in the area.

The hypothesis that Ukrainian missiles hit the Russian flagship “Moskva”, as claimed by Kiev, is credible, some experts agree, while Moscow insists that the cruiser sank after a fire.

The “Moskva” was wrecked while being towed to the port of Sevastopol, “in rough sea conditions”, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, cited by Russian agencies. A version of the events that the retired US General Mark Hertling questions on Twitter, highlighting “winds of 6km/h and a little rain in the last 24 hours in the Sevastopol region”.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby refrained from confirming on Thursday the origin of the “Moskva” fire and considered it “possible that it could have been hit with a Neptune missile”, which has “sufficient range to reach the Moskva”.

(With information from Reuters and AFP)

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