Kyiv, Ukraine (AP) – On a day when Moscow suffered a severe symbolic defeat with the loss of its flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, the Ukrainian president congratulated his people for their determination after Russia’s invasion in February and for making “the most important decision. their lives – to fight. ”
In an evening address, Vladimir Zelensky told Ukrainians late Thursday that they should be proud to have survived 50 days under Russian attack when the invaders “gave us a maximum of five”.
Then even friendly world leaders urged him to leave, unsure if Ukraine could survive, he said: “But they did not know how brave Ukrainians are, how much we value freedom and the opportunity to live as we want.
Enumerating the ways in which Ukraine has defended itself against pressure, Zelensky noted that “those who have shown that Russian warships can set sail, even if they are at the bottom” are at sea.
This was his only mention of the missile cruiser “Moscow”, named after the Russian capital, which became a powerful target of Ukrainian disobedience in the early days of the war. He sank on Thursday while being towed to port after suffering severe damage in circumstances that remain in dispute.
Ukrainian authorities said their forces had hit the ship with missiles while Moscow acknowledged a fire on board but no attack. US and other Western officials could not confirm what caused the fire. In any case, the loss was a symbolic defeat for Russia as its troops regrouped for a renewed offensive in eastern Ukraine after withdrawing from much of the north, including the capital Kyiv.
Moscow had the capacity to carry 16 long-range cruise missiles, and its removal reduces Russia’s firepower in the Black Sea. It is also a blow to Moscow’s prestige in a war that is already considered a historic mistake. Entering its eighth week, the invasion came amid 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 ship that called on Ukrainian troops stationed on Snake Island in the Black Sea to surrender in opposition. In a widespread recording, a soldier replied: “Russian warship, go (curse) alone.”
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.
If Ukraine carries out the attack, “Moscow” is probably the largest warship sunk in the Battle of the Falklands War in 1982, in which a cruiser of similar size, called the ARA General Belgrano, was torpedoed by a British submarine, killing more than 300 sailors. board.
The news of the flagship overshadowed Russian claims of progress in the southern port city of Mariupol, where Moscow forces 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 dwindling number of Ukrainian defenders in Mariupol is opposing a siege that has trapped more than 100,000 civilians in desperate need of food, water and heating. David Beasley, executive director of the UN World Food Program, said in an interview with the AP on Thursday that people were “starving to death” in the besieged city.
The mayor of Mariupol said this week that more than 10,000 civilians had died and the death toll could exceed 20,000 after weeks of attacks and deprivation covered the streets with bodies.
The capture of Mariupol is crucial for Russia because it will allow its forces in the south, which emerged through the annexed Crimean peninsula, to fully connect with troops in the Donbass region, Ukraine’s eastern industrial center 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 soon. 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 Donbass.
Maxim Marchenko, governor of the Odessa region, said Ukrainian forces had hit Moscow with two Neptune rockets and caused “serious damage”.
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” have not been damaged and that the crew, usually numbering about 500, has left the ship. It was not clear if there were any casualties. In addition to cruise missiles, the warship had anti-aircraft missiles and other guns.
Neptune is an anti-ship rocket that was recently developed by Ukraine based on an earlier Soviet design. The launchers are mounted on trucks near the coast and, according to the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, can hit targets up to 280 kilometers (175 miles) away. That would put Moscow in range, based on where the ship was when the fire broke out.
Launched as Glory in 1979, the cruiser served during the Cold War and during the conflicts in Georgia and Syria and helped conduct research in peacetime with the United States. He carried nuclear weapons during the Cold War.
On Thursday, other Russian ships in the northern Black Sea moved further south after the Moscow incident, a senior U.S. defense official said on condition of anonymity to discuss domestic military assessments.
Although the United States has failed to confirm Ukraine’s allegations of a strike on the warship, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan called it a “big blow to Russia.”
“They had to choose between two stories: one was that it was just incompetence, and the other was that they were attacked, and neither of them was a very good result for them,” Sullivan told the Washington Economic Club.
Russia invaded on February 24 and potentially lost thousands of fighters. The conflict killed huge numbers of Ukrainian civilians and forced millions more to flee.
It has also further raised prices in grocery stores and petrol stations, while dragging on the global economy. The head of the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday that the war had helped the organization lower economic forecasts for 143 countries.
Also Thursday, Russian authorities accused Ukraine of sending two low-flying military helicopters about 11 kilometers (7 miles) across the border and firing on apartment buildings in the village of Klimovo in Russia’s Bryansk region. 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.
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Associated Press journalists from around the world contributed to this report.
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war
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