Ukraine has released footage of what it claims is the launch of Neptune missiles that sank the Moskva cruiser – the flagship of Vladimir Putin’s Black Sea fleet – one year ago today.
The clip comes as Russia continues to cover up the sinking, refusing to reveal how many died or the command failures that led to the vessel’s loss.
The flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet sank on 14 April 2022 and lies some 150ft under the surface.
Only the identities of some of the lost sailors are known.
Ukraine’s defence minister Oleksiy Reznikov used the anniversary to taunt the Russians saying ‘I’ll be your guide’ to visit the wreck of Putin’s modern warship.
He said: ‘If diving enthusiasts listen to me, after victory [in the war] I invite you to visit a new dive spot in the Black Sea – the Cruiser Moskva underwater museum….I invite you and will be your guide.’
The sinking of the warship – leading to an unknown number of deaths – ‘did the seemingly impossible’ Mr Reznikov continued.
He said: ‘It changed the course of history because a chain reaction began. It was the last day of the Russian fleet’s dominance in the Black Sea.’
As relatives marked the anniversary of the sinking, Dmitry Shkrebets, 44, whose son Yegor, 20, was killed, vowed to win justice for those who perished.
Russia has still not revealed the number who died, or the circumstance, but instead is staging a criminal investigation against this father for protesting at alleged incompetence by commanders.
It is clear many of the ‘dozens’ killed were conscripts, who Putin had vowed would not be sent to the war zone, said Shkrebets.
He blamed the dictator for cruel ‘indifference’ to the Moskva dead, and demanded answers to the fate of the lost men.
The strike on the Moskva ‘should not have occurred, but it was allowed to,’ said the distraught father.
He said: ‘It all happened at 14.20 Moscow time, in the northwestern part of the Black Sea.
‘Dozens of sailors and members of the ship’s crew died, including my son….’
The vessel was hit on 13 April 2022, the day Yegor died, but the vessel sank on 14 April.
These conscripts ‘were not supposed to take part in the [special military operation] – this was publicly promised to the whole country by President Vladimir Putin,’ said Shkrebets.
‘Yet they became its participants from the first day, from the first military campaign of the Moskva cruiser on February 24, 2022.
‘Eternal memory to you…and peace to your bright souls. See you soon, son.’
Shkrebets faces a probe after condemning Putin for failing to meet or acknowledge the lost Moskva sailors, and appointing inept commanders, but vowed to fight on and reveal the truth once the investigation is over.
He had declared: ‘Putin is no longer my president. I do not believe this man, he betrayed me. I consider him a hypocrite and a traitor to my Motherland.’
