Video: Moskva missile cruiser engulfed in smoke in the Black Sea
A video showing Russia’s flagship Black Sea missile cruiser “Moskva” before sinking emerged on internet. The footage surfaced just a day after the first photos of the crippled ship were posted on Twitter.
Moskva missile cruiser pictured during its last moments before sinking in Black Sea (pic: Twitter/OSINTtechnical)
The video which was recorded from a Russian sea rescue tug Shakhter (SB-922) that joined the rescue operations, shows thick smoke billowing out from the damaged Moskva which appears tilted sharply to the port with its deck much closer to the water line than would normally be.
The flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet sank on April 14, 2022 after reportedly being hit by three Neptune anti-ship missiles fired by Ukrainian army. At the same time, Kremlin’s official version claims that the cruiser went down due to an explosion of ammunition on board in combination with rough weather conditions.
The 12500 tonne Moskva, commissioned in 1983, had a crew of 510 and was equipped with 16 anti-ship “Vulkan” cruise missiles featuring a range of at least 700 km.
Russian Black Sea Fleet Prj. 712 sea rescue tug Shakhter (SB-922) alongside the Moskva pic.twitter.com/9LIkERQxLY
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) April 18, 2022