The most important ship in the Russian fleet in the Black Sea, the missile cruiser Moskva, was seriously damaged after the explosion of ammunition on board, the Interfax news agency quoted the Russian Defense Ministry as saying on Wednesday.
Interfax said the entire crew had been evacuated and the cause of the explosion was being investigated.
A Ukrainian official said earlier that the ship was hit by two missiles, but gave no evidence for the claim.
The 12,500-ton ship has a crew of around 500 people. Russian news agencies said the Moskva was armed with 16 “Vulkan” anti-ship cruise missiles, which have a range of at least 700 kilometers.
“As a result of a fire on the cruiser Moskva, the ammunition was detonated. The ship was seriously damaged,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement. “The crew has been completely withdrawn.” Interfax gave no further details.
Maksym Marchenko, governor of the region around the Black Sea port of Odessa, said earlier in a post that two anti-ship missiles hit the cruiser, but provided no evidence.
Last month, Ukraine said it destroyed a large Russian landing support ship, the Orsk, in the Sea of Azov, northeast of the Black Sea. Moscow has not commented on what happened to the ship.
Source: CNN Brasil
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