First pictures of sinking Russian warship Moskva as survivor describes horrors on board
Photos thought to have been taken by a passing Turkish ship show Russia’s flagship Moskva before it sank after allegedly being struck by Ukrainian missiles
A picture us worth a thousand words!
These are the first images showing Russia’s Moskva warship as it sank killing 40 sailors – after allegedly being hit by a Ukrainian missile. The ship went down in the Black Sea last week after Kyiv said it launched a rocket strike, although the Kremlin claims the vessel was destroyed in an accident.
An anonymous conscript survivor was in tears as he told his mother of at least 40 crew members killed at the time, with “many missing” and maimed with lost limbs after a missile strike by the Ukrainians. Parents of another conscript say they have found out some 200 were wounded – many with horrific burns and other major injuries.
The new accounts strongly dispute the official Russian version of the loss of Vladimir Putin’s Black Sea Fleet flagship. It remains unclear how many of the crew survived the sinking amid claims the dead may run into the hundreds. Russia has not revealed any information about survivors.
Significant fire damage visible above deck with life rafts gone, crack in the hull and a pronounced list to port. Fire pumps apparently still running but no crew visible.
The young sailor who witnessed the carnage on the Moskva was revealed by Novaya Gazeta, Russia’s leading investigative media outlet, now operating from outside the country after being gagged by Putin.
“I first heard from him only on 15 April, two days after the incident,” said the distraught mother. “My son said the cruiser was hit from the land, from the Ukrainian side, because the fire on board would not have started without a reason. There are people who were killed, wounded and missing.”
“My son called me as soon as they all were given phones [after being rescued]. Their own documents and phones were on the [sunken} cruiser. “He called me, and he cried over what he had seen. It was horrendous. Clearly not everyone survived.”
She said: “Most of the wounded have limbs torn off, because of the explosions from both the missiles and the detonated ammunition. “He said: ‘Mamochka (tender for mum), I never thought I’d get into such a mess during supposedly peaceful times. I won’t even tell you the details of what I’ve seen, it was so horrendous’.”
The mother said: “I don’t want to share his name because I am scared to damage my son. “They signed non-disclosure agreements before boarding the cruiser. “Please understand me, I am terrified. I am petrified, and I don’t know how I will wait for my son to return.”
Separately, a father has vowed to find out the truth about his conscript son Yegor Shkrebets, 20, a ship’s cook on the Moskva, now missing presumed dead. He expresses the fury of parents who feel they have been lied to by the Russian authorities.
Dmitry Shkrebets, from Yalta in annexed Crimea, said: “It was reported [by Russian state media] that the entire crew had been evacuated. “It is a lie. A blatant and cynical lie. “My son is a conscript, and as I was informed by the immediate commanders of the cruiser Moskva, he is not among the dead and wounded and is included in the list of missing.
“A conscript who was not supposed to take part in hostilities is listed as missing….missing on the high seas. “After my attempts to clarify the data on the incident, the cruiser commander and his deputy stopped communicating. “I asked directly: How come you, the officers, are alive, and my son, a conscript, died?”
Media outlet Agentstvo identified another conscript Mark Tarasov, 24, called up after studying at university. His mother Ulyana Tarasova, 47, posted on her page on VK on April 17: “My son, Tarasov Mark, went missing on the Cruiser Moskva.”
Black smoke is seen pouring from the warship, and it is listing to port by roughly 20 degrees. All the life rafts on the aft port side are seen to have been deployed, which suggests a significant number of crew were able to escape the warship.
If genuine, the pictures must have been taken from a nearby ship, prompting the theory that they were leaked to dispel ‘Kremlin lies’ over the incident. One claim is that the photographs were taken from a Turkish ship which was earlier claimed to have rescued 54 men.
Moscow has admitted only a fire on board, causing an explosion.
The new images appear “consistent with an anti-ship missile strike”, said independent open-source analysts questioned by authoritative The Maritime Executive. “It appears to show two holes amidships at the waterline, just below the stacks on the port side. “Significant fire damage is visible above decks, and the ship has a pronounced list to port. “Black smoke marks at multiple hull penetrations near the main deck level are consistent with an internal fire running aft of the site of impact, according to analysts.”
The images show a calm sea, contrary to official Russian reports claiming there was a storm or rough seas.
The ship’s normal crew complement was 510 but at a parade involving ‘survivors’ held afterwards in Sevastopol, only around 150 were present according to footage supplied to the Russian media by the Defence Ministry. No explanation was given for the missing sailors, nor about possible wounded seamen.
A source told Russian media VHCK-OGPU – which has links to ruling circles in Moscow – that the cruiser sank shortly after these pictures were taken. If true, this means the Russian government statements that it sank under tow back to port Sevastopol area false. There were “no rescue tugs and no storm” visible.
“The source said that the photo of the sinking cruiser Moskva was taken from a Turkish ship. “Earlier, VHCK-OGPU reported that Turkish sailors rescued 54 crew members of the cruiser. “According to Turkey (this was reported by the VCHK-OGPU), at 1.05 an SOS signal was received from the cruiser, on which the nearest ships moved to the crash site, including the Turkish ship that saved 54 sailors.”
Source: The Mirror