'F*** YOURSELF'
Ukraine ‘SINKS’ Russian Black Sea flagship Moskva as missile strike blows up cruiser weeks after Snake Island standoff
A RUSSIAN warship has been blown up after it was struck with a barrage of Ukrainian missiles in the latest humiliating blow for Vladimir Putin.
is understood to have lost the 12,490 ton missile cruiser, the Slava-class Moskva, after it was hit by a pair of Neptune cruise missiles fired by .
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confirmed explosions on the vessel which is the flagship for its Black Sea Fleet.
Moskva has played a deadly role in the war by bombarding Ukrainian towns from positions at sea.
is reported to have harassed the vessel with a drone as a distraction before striking the with two cruise missiles.
Moscow said the crew had been ordered to abandon ship amid reports that the 611ft vessel was sinking.
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The Russian ministry of defence said explosions ripped through the ammunition stores triggering a major blaze.
's spokesman confirmed the tyrant has been briefed on the strike.
Ukraine's southern military command said it hit the warship causing significant damage, and that the ship had started sinking.
The forces claimed fire was started by the missile strike - and rescue ships were then hampered by ammunition exploding on board.
Bad weather then caused the stricken warship to begin to sink, claimed Ukraine.
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The vessel played had played key role defending Russia’s navy and its loss would be a major coup for Ukraine – leaving the rest of the fleet more vulnerable.
It comes days after Britain announced it was sending Ukraine hi-tech anti ship weapons.
But the cruiser is believed to have been struck by Kyiv-made Neptune missiles.
The Moskva had taken on legendary status among Ukraine’s defenders after a band of outgunned border guards said “Russian warship, go f*** yourself!” when it ordered them to surrender.
The message was broadcast on ship-to-shore radios and became an instant rallying cry of the resistance.
And if the Moskva sinks its will be one of the biggest military embarrassments of the war for Russia.
She would be the largest warship sunk in combat since World War 2.
Moskva would also be the biggest vessel lost in combat since Britain sunk the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano in 1982 during the Falklands War.
Odesa governor Maksym Marchenko victoriously claimed the strike had caused "serious damage" to the flagship cruiser.
And Russian sources leaked on Telegram said this morning that Ukrainian forces have now sunk Putin's flagship - in another major blow for Moscow.
Ammunition onboard is thought to have blown up, sparking a blaze, with Russian state media saying all crew had been evacuated.
Moscow's defence ministry are said to have announced the cause of the blast is being investigated.
But Governor Marchenko triumphantly wrote on Telegram: "Neptune missiles guarding the Black Sea caused very serious damage to the Russian ship.
"Glory to Ukraine!"
Despite claims that the atrocity was caused by Neptune missiles, Russia insists that the damage was caused by a fire.
Naval warfare expert told The Sun Online: "The attack will be symbolic, and also militarily significant.
"Moskva was the flagship and so likely had a command and control function over other warships. And its air defenses covered much of the northern Black Sea."
"The Russian Navy may rethink how it employs its warships there. The cruise missile launches are likely to continue, but we may not see as bold deployment of ships near the Ukrainian coast.
"And an amphibious landing near Odesa now appears even less likely."
The author, who recently penned an article about Moskva for also noted the anti-air on the ship looked "increasingly dated, even by Russian Navy standards".
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Telegram channel Ishchi Svoikh, set up by the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, reported: “The cruiser Moskva sank at about 3am.
“Shortly before this, the Russian Ministry of Defence announced that there was a fire on the ship, the ammunition detonated, the crew was evacuated.
“But according to our data, this is all far from being the case.
“An effective rescue operation could not be carried out due to a storm, about 300 sailors died.
“Earlier, Ukrainian media reported that Moskva was hit by two Neptun missiles.”
Russian news agency TASS initially reported that the crew was “completely evacuated”.
A later version of the story removed the word “completely”.
It comes just weeks after the Soviet-era ship opened fire on 13 defiant border guards tasked with protecting Snake Island.
The Ukrainians famously told Putin's men "go f*** yourselves" after being asked to surrender.
According to Ukrainian presidential advisor Oleksiy Arestovych, the ship was "burning strongly" after the supposedly successful strike.
He said in a YouTube broadcast that "a surprise happened with the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet".
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Arestovych continued: "It burns strongly. Right now. And with this stormy sea it is unknown whether they will be able to receive help.
"There are 510 crew members. We don't understand what happened."
The Moskva - a 600ft, 12,500 tonne cruiser - menacingly stalks the Black Sea and is the flagship of the fleet.
It became notorious during the early days of the conflict after the Snake Island battle cry became a war call for Ukrainians.
Snake Island is ruled by Ukraine, but it sits just miles from the coast of Romania.
The tiny island is strategically important as its fall will allow Russia to claim territorial waters stretching 12 nautical miles out to sea.
Russia would be able to cut off key shipping channels - isolating Ukraine from international markets and starving its economy of trade revenues.
It comes after dramatic footage emerged of a Russian ship packed with ammo reportedly being blown up.
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Footage shows the landing ship, named Orsk, on fire as black smoke can be seen coming from the port in occupied Berdyansk.
While Orsk sank, and ammunition onboard exploded sending black smoke billowing into the sky, another Kremlin Navy ship was damaged.
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