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WATERY GRAVE
Russian warship Moskva ‘seen burning in satellite pic’ after Ukraine missile strike sank it ‘with all 510 crew lost’
A SATELLITE photo of Vladimir Putin's warship appears to show it burning after it was hit by a Ukrainian missile strike.
The Russian vessel Moskva reportedly sank with its entire crew of 510 sailors on board, following a fire and an explosion, Ukraine has claimed.
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A satellite image appears to pinpoint the exact location of the ship after it was targeted.
A total of 510 sailors were reportedly on the vessel that was blown up on Thursday- whose fate remains a mystery.
Anton Gerashchenko, an advisor to the Kyiv Interior Ministry, claimed that "the explosion was so strong that the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet sank in a matter of minutes".
He claimed to have heard this from sources in Sevastopol, the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
“Apparently, as a result of the fire, the warheads of the large P-1000 cruise missile - Vulkan - detonated. And there were 16 of them on board the cruiser.”
As a result “all the crew of the cruiser Moskva died”.
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He added: “The leadership of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation have deliberately hidden the truth from relatives and friends of the crew members.”
However, his account contradicts other earlier versions, including that a Turkish vessel rescued more than 50.
Another 14 were reportedly flown to the port of Sevastopol.
Russia has claimed that the crew was evacuated but there are increasing fears of lost lives on the battleship.
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Video from within in Sevastopol overnight shows dozens of cars purportedly belonging to the sailors still parked in the port - suggesting their owners haven't come to collect them.
Russian reports also said the warship had been under tow when it sank, and it was suggested this was near Sevastopol rather than at the location when it was hit by Ukrainian missiles or suffered an explosion for other reasons, as Gerashchenko implies.
Meanwhile, a moving “mourning ceremony” was held for the Moskva and its sailors in Sevastopol, its homeport, as relatives of the crew defied the Russian orders.
It was unofficial but there was no mention of the number who had died, yet it seemed clear from this sombre ceremony presided over by a priest that there had been a significant loss of life.
A wreath was placed by a Black Fleet statue which read: “To the ship and the sailors”.
It comes amid soaring fears that nukes might be on the sea bed after Ukraine's hit on the vessel.
Anti-ship P-1000 "Vulkan" missiles, which are able to carry a nuclear warhead, were onboard the Moskva cruiser.
Earlier today Kyiv sources claimed the ship's captain First Rank Captain Anton Kuprin, 44, went down with the ship after it was hammered by Neptune anti-ship missiles.
He “died during an explosion and fire on board the former flagship of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation,” said Anton Gerashenko.
The official added: “We do not mourn.”
Other sources support the claim that Capt, Kuprin was killed.
There was no immediate confirmation from Moscow on Kuprin, but Russia has failed to announce many prominent military deaths in the 51-day war.
Rumours also circulated in Ukrainian media that Admiral Igor Osipov - the commander of Russia's Black Sea fleet which the Moskva led - had allegedly been arrested while wearing civilian clothing.
His arrest would be the latest in a string of detentions linked to the bungled invasion.
RETALIATION
The sinking of the Soviet-era Moskva in the Black Sea prompted Russia to launch a furious retaliation, later claiming to have blitzed the factory which made the missiles that sunk their prized flagship.
The defence ministry said it had rocketed the 'Vizar' plant on the edge of Kyiv on Thursday night which it says manufactures Neptune anti-ship missiles.
Moskva - a 40-year-old symbol of Russian military might - was left a smouldering wreck after taking two direct missile hits in the attack and later went down as it was being towed to naval port Sevastopol in Crimea.
The subsonic Neptune missile is based on the old Soviet Kh-35 anti-ship missile with improved range and electronics, and has a range of almost 200 miles.
First coming into service in Ukraine last year, the whole system comprises a truck-based mobile launcher, four missiles, a reload vehicle, and a command and control vehicle.
It is designed to fly close to the surface of the sea to avoid detection.
The attack left Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin craving bloody revenge and he immediately retaliated with a brutal new bombing campaign.
And he promised more strikes against the Ukrainian capital as they seek furious revenge for the loss of the 12,490-tonne monster vessel.
In a statement, Russia defence ministry said: "The number and scale of missile strikes on targets in Kyiv will increase in response to any terrorist attacks or acts of sabotage on Russian territory committed by the Kyiv nationalist regime."
Strikes later rocked the capital Kyiv on Thursday night, according to Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko.
In a tweet late on Thursday, she said: "3 explosions in #Kyiv right now. One after the other.
"The air raid warning has been on for an hour. Most likely #putin gone livid because of the #Moskva sinking.
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"Oh well, we’ll just keep standing to #Russia’s annoyance."
Social media videos have shown the sky above Kyiv lit up by countless explosions - they appear to be the most serious attacks since Russia retreated from the capital earlier this month.
While blasts were also heard in the southern city of Kherson, the eastern city of Kharkiv and in Ukraine's western city of Ivano-Frankivsk.
NUKE HORROR
As well as being the biggest loss since the Belgrano, the Moskva is the largest naval asset to be sunk since World War 2.
But in a chilling revelation, sources say there is now real concern that there are several nuclear missiles on the vessel.
BlackSeaNews editor-in-chief Andriy Klymenko called for an urgent international probe into whether the Moskva was carrying nuclear weapons.
"Friends and experts say that there are two nuclear warheads for cruise missiles on board the Moskva,” he said.
“Perhaps for many this is new information, but it is true” - the warship is “a carrier of nuclear weapons”.
He asked: “Where are these warheads? Where were they when the ammunition exploded? Where is the point on the map, the coordinates?"
Ukrainian online newspaper Defence Express also warned of the nuclear warhead threat from the sunken Moskva.
They said: “There is a real possibility that the affected flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet could have had nuclear munitions on board.
“In addition to the P-1000 "Vulkan" missiles, the nuclear missile cruiser Moskva could contain other nuclear weapons."
Amid the harrowing reports of possible nukes in the Black Sea, a village in Russia's border region with Belarus, which houses a military base, was struck Thursday.
The attack followed explosions at an ammo dump and oil facility in Belgorod, and along a nearby train line.
Images from Belgorod in the early hours of Friday showed anti-aircraft missiles in the sky, suggesting fresh strikes were underway.
It comes as the ministry said its forces had also completely taken control of the Ilyich Steel Plant in the besieged port city of Mariupol.
Russia said on Wednesday that 1,026 soldiers of Ukraine's 36th Marine Brigade, including 162 officers, had surrendered near the steel plant.
Mariupol, which has been encircled by Russian troops for weeks, has seen the fiercest fighting and the most comprehensive destruction since Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24.
On Thursday night Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised his people for withstanding a merciless 50-days of Russian onslaught.
He branded the resistance "an achievement of millions of Ukrainians".
The defiant leader also praised "everyone who on February 24 made the most important decision of their life - to fight".
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He went on to taunt Russia, saying: "They didn't know how brave Ukrainians are, how much we value freedom and the possibility to live the way we want."
His comments came amid a chorus of world leaders pleading with Zelensky to leave the country.
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