Sinking of the Moskva | “Strikes on Kyiv will increase”, promises Moscow

Moscow promises to retaliate after the sinking of its flagship in the Black Sea, sunk by Ukrainian missiles. A painful setback for Russia, which threatens to intensify its offensive against Kyiv.

Lea Carrier
The Press

A “big blow”

Confirmation fell on Friday: the Russian ship Moskva, which sank in the Black Sea on Thursday, was indeed sunk by two Ukrainian missiles, a senior Pentagon official said. Moscow, which assured that the ship had been the prey of a fire, suffered a new setback. And more than a military failure, the loss of Moskva represents a bitter humiliation for Russia. The 186-meter colossus “embodied Russian military power”, writes Release. Flagship of the Russian army, the Moskva (Moscow, in French) had been in nearly every recent Kremlin campaign, from Georgia to Syria. “It’s a boat made to kill,” reports an officer of the French Navy quoted by the Parisian daily.

Deployed from the start of the war, the ship coordinated the fleet and ensured complete Russian supremacy on the Black Sea coast…until now. “The Ukrainians are now able to attack the Russian navy, whereas, until now, the Russians had complete control of the coasts”, remarks Michel Fortmann, honorary professor of political science and researcher at the Center for Studies and Research international from the University of Montreal.

This is a “big blow” for Russia, said Friday the Pentagon, which was unable to confirm the number of victims. A Ukrainian military official claimed that the entire crew – around 500 people – had perished, a report which could not yet be independently verified.

An improved anti-ship missile

the Moskva was damaged by two anti-ship missiles Neptune. Entering service with the Ukrainian Navy in 2021, the Neptune is an upgraded version of the Soviet Zvezda Kh-35 anti-ship missile, with a range of around 300 kilometers. According to an expert from the American Naval Institute quoted by Agence France-Presse, “the missile defenses of the Moskva were obsolete”. Another vulnerability factor: the Russian cruiser was making “relatively predictable” movements in the Black Sea, said the American expert.

Kyiv threatened again

Russia’s response was quick. It promised on Friday to intensify its offensive against Ukraine, in response to “terrorist” attacks and “sabotage” operations on Russian territory. “The number and scale of missile strikes on Kyiv sites will increase,” Russia’s Defense Ministry warned on Friday. During the night, an armaments factory that manufactures Neptune anti-ship missiles was the target of a Russian strike, noted journalists from Agence France-Presse on the spot.

The strikes continue

Amid its threats, Russia continued to shell northeastern Ukraine. At least seven people were killed and 34 others injured in Russian shelling of a residential area in Kharkiv, the region’s governor, Oleg Sinegoubov, announced on Friday. Three children were injured and a seven-month-old baby lost his life. Mr. Sinegoubov also called on residents not to go out into the streets unless absolutely necessary. Earlier Friday, seven civilians were killed and 27 others injured by Russian fire on evacuation buses in the Kharkiv region, according to Ukrainian authorities. Deadly strikes have also been reported in the Donbass region, a new priority for the Kremlin.

The whole world should be worried

Russia, cornered by its blunders since the start of the invasion, could resort to nuclear weapons, fears the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. On Friday, he warned the “whole world”, which he said should be “worried” about the nuclear risk posed by Vladimir Putin. The day before, the boss of American foreign intelligence had estimated that the threat represented by the potential use of tactical nuclear weapons or “low-power” nuclear weapons by the Russian president should not be “taken lightly, if he were to “to sink into despair” in the face of the failures of his army. An outcome that the professor of the University of Montreal Michel Fortmann still considers implausible. “I don’t believe that the use of nuclear weapons makes any sense [pour la Russie] on the ground,” he said. “And as a backlash, there would be an extremely strong international reaction. »

Over 900 civilian bodies discovered

The bodies of more than 900 civilians were discovered in the vicinity of the Ukrainian capital, after the withdrawal of Russian troops. About 95% of them were shot and killed, indicating that many people were “simply executed”, Kyiv regional police chief Andrii Nebitov said on Friday. The greatest number of victims was discovered in Boutcha, a symbolic city of Russian barbarism, where more than 350 dead were counted.

A stamp victim of its own success

A stamp depicting a Ukrainian soldier giving the middle finger Moskva sold out at lightning speed in post offices across the country. On the first day of the war, in a radio exchange that went around the world, Ukrainian border guards shouted “Fuck you! to the Russian ship calling on them to surrender. La Poste had launched a competition in early March to illustrate the episode. It had to be chance that the stamp be distributed across the country the day after the sinking of the Moskva. “When we designed the stamp, we did not know the outcome of this episode, but we are delighted,” commented to AFP Igor Smelyansky, director general of the Ukrainian post.

A “very likely” Finnish candidacy

Finland is “very likely” to apply for NATO membership, Finland’s European Affairs Minister Tytti Tuppurainen said on Friday. Sweden, which is also considering possible membership of the Atlantic Alliance, must announce its decision within “a few weeks”. “It’s huge,” said Mr. Fortmann. “This is a radical turning point for two traditionally neutral countries, which have always remained in the background”, explains the professor. Russian diplomacy warned Finland and Sweden that joining NATO would have consequences for these countries and for European security.

With Alice Girard-Bossé, The PressAgence France-Presse, the Associated Press and Release