The last:
- Ukrainian authorities say they have launched a missile strike on a Russian warship that Russia says has already sunk.
- Russian troops are regrouping for a renewed offensive in eastern Ukraine.
- The Kharkiv, Donetsk and Zaporizhia regions have been hit by missile strikes, the deputy defense minister said.
The flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, a missile cruiser that became a powerful target of Ukrainian disobedience in the early days of the war, sank on Thursday after being severely damaged in the latest failure to invade Moscow.
Ukrainian authorities said their forces hit the ship with missiles while Russia acknowledged a fire aboard the Moscow, but no attack. US and other Western officials could not confirm what caused the fire.
The loss of the warship, named after the Russian capital, would be a major military and symbolic defeat for Russia as its troops regroup for a renewed offensive in eastern Ukraine after withdrawing from much of the north, including the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said the ship sank in a storm while being towed to port. Earlier, Russia said the flames of the ship, which usually has 500 sailors on board, forced the entire crew to evacuate. It is later said that the fire has been contained and that the ship will be towed to the port with intact missile launchers.
In this photo from a November 2021 file, the missile cruiser of the Russian fleet “Moscow” sails back to port after tracking NATO warships in the Black Sea, in the port of Sevastopol, Crimea. (Alexei Pavlishak / Reuters)
The ship had the capacity to carry 16 long-range cruise missiles, and removing it from combat would significantly reduce Russia’s firepower in the Black Sea. The loss of the ship would be a serious blow to Russia’s prestige in a war that is already considered a historic mistake.
Entering its eighth week, Russia’s invasion came to a halt due to resistance from Ukrainian militants, backed by weapons and other aid sent by Western nations.
During the first days of the war, Moscow was reportedly the warship that called on Ukrainian troops stationed on Snake Island in the Black Sea to surrender in opposition. In a widely circulated recording, a soldier replied, “Russian warship, go to hell.”
The Associated Press could not independently investigate the incident, but Ukraine and its supporters see it as an iconic moment of disobedience. The country recently unveiled a postage stamp in honor of this.
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Contradictory reports from Mariupol
News of the ship’s damage also overshadowed Russia’s claims of progress in the southern port city of Mariupol, where they have been fighting Ukrainians since the first days of the invasion of some of the war’s worst battles – at a terrifying cost to civilians.
The spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Defense, Major General. Igor Konashenkov said on Wednesday that 1,026 servicemen from Ukraine’s 36th Marine Brigade had surrendered to a metal factory in the city. But Vadim Denisenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, dismissed the allegation, telling Current Time television that “the battle for the seaport continues today.”
It was not clear when and for how long the capitulation may have taken place or how many forces were still defending Mariupol.
Russia’s state television aired on Wednesday what it said was Mariupol, showing dozens of men in camouflage walking with their arms raised and carrying others on stretchers or chair handles. A man was holding a white flag.
A woman cries in a bunker in Popasna, Ukraine’s eastern Donbass, on Thursday amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (Ronaldo Shemid / AFP / Getty Images)
Mariupol is a scene of some of the worst sufferings of the war. Dwindling Ukrainian defenders oppose a Russian siege that has trapped more than 100,000 civilians in desperate need of food, water and heating.
The mayor said Monday that more than 10,000 civilians had died in the siege and that the death toll could exceed 20,000. Weeks of attacks and deprivation have left bodies “on carpets in the streets”, he said.
The capture of Mariupol is crucial for Russia, as it would bring under its control a section of territory that would allow its forces in the south, which emerged through the annexed Crimean peninsula, to connect with troops in the eastern region of Donbass, the industrial heart of Ukraine and the goal of the upcoming offensive.
The Russian military continues to move helicopters and other equipment together for similar efforts, according to a senior U.S. defense official, and is likely to add more ground combat units “in the coming days.” But it is still unclear when Russia may launch a major offensive in Donbass.
Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukraine in Donbass since 2014, the same year that Russia took over Crimea. Russia has recognized the independence of the rebel regions in Donbas, although the move has been widely condemned by the West.
“Serious damage” to the ship
But the loss of Moscow could slow down any new large-scale offensive.
Maxim Marchenko, governor of the Odessa region across the Black Sea northwest of Sevastopol, said the Ukrainians hit the cruiser with guided missiles with two Neptune missiles and caused “serious damage.”
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The battle for Mariupol “is not over yet”, says the analyst of the defense industry
Former British Army officer Nicholas Drummond says trying to take control of the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol will cost the Russians a “no easy victory”. There are three key points of resistance in the city and there are still up to 3,000 Ukrainian troops left, tying up a significant number of Russian troops, he said. 3:57
Alexei Arestovich, an adviser to the President of Ukraine, said at the time that the ship had sunk, calling the event “colossal”.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said the ammunition on board was detonated as a result of the fire, without saying what caused the fire. It says the “main missile weapons” are not damaged. In addition to cruise missiles, the warship had anti-aircraft missiles and other guns.
Neptune is an anti-ship rocket recently developed by Ukraine and based on an earlier Soviet design. The missiles are mounted on trucks near the coast, and according to the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, the missiles can hit targets up to 280 kilometers away. That would put Moscow in range, depending on where the fire started.
In this still image, taken from a video released by Russian television on Wednesday, soldiers carry a wounded man on a stretcher while displaying a white flag at a location designated Mariupol, Ukraine. The report says the video shows Ukrainian Marines surrendering in Mariupol. Reuters could not independently confirm the transmission and authenticity of the Russian television footage. (RURTR / Handout / Reuters TV) A Ukrainian serviceman watches workers exhume bodies from a mass grave in Bucha, northwest of Kyiv, on Thursday. (Sergey Supinski / AFP / Getty Images)
The United States has failed to confirm Ukraine’s allegations of a strike on the warship, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Thursday. However, he called it a “big blow to Russia”.
“They had to choose between two stories: one is that it’s just incompetence, and the other is that they were attacked, and neither is [particularly] a good result for them, “Sullivan told the Washington Economic Club.
The war enters the 8th week
Russia invaded on February 24 with the aim of quickly capturing Kyiv, overthrowing the government and installing a Moscow-friendly deputy, according to Western officials. The conflict has killed huge numbers of Ukrainian civilians and forced millions of others to flee.
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Ukraine calls for military equipment ahead of imminent Russian attack
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Also Thursday, Russian authorities accused Ukraine of sending two low-flying military helicopters across the border and firing on apartment buildings in the village of Klimovo in Russia’s Bryansk region, about 11km from the border. Russia’s Investigative Committee said seven people, including a small child, were injured.
Russia’s State Security Service said earlier that Ukrainian forces had fired mortars at a border post in Bryansk as refugees crossed, forcing them to flee.
Reports cannot be verified independently. Earlier this month, Ukrainian security officials denied that Kyiv was behind an air strike against an oil base in the Russian city of Belgorod, about 55km from the border.
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The director of the Lviv Municipal Art Center in Ukraine explained why it is important to create and support art during the war. A new photographic exhibition for the bombed theater in the port city of Mariupol opened on Thursday. 1:36
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