Explosion on warship
Pentagon calls missile attack on Moscow possible
4/14/2022, 7:33 p.m
In the guesswork about the condition of the Russian warship “Moskva”, the USA is also cautious in its assessment. There was definitely an explosion on the ship, they say. However, its cause is unclear. However, the Pentagon firmly contradicts a statement from the Ukrainian side.
The US Department of Defense has so far been reluctant to assess the cause of the fire on the Russian warship “Moskva” (“Moscow”). A senior defense official said in Washington it was not yet clear what caused the damage to the missile cruiser.
It is believed that the ship was 60 to 65 nautical miles south of the Ukrainian city of Odessa when the explosion occurred. “At the moment we cannot say definitively what caused this explosion and subsequent fire.” It could be due to a missile attack, but there could also be other reasons.
The danger of fires and explosions on such ships is generally high because they have flammable and explosive material on board, he stressed. It is therefore important to be careful when drawing conclusions. “We believe a fire is still being fought on the ship,” the official said. The cruiser is currently moving east, presumably towards Sevastopol for repairs. Finally, the ship was still able to move under its own power.
The defense official said several other Russian ships previously operating near the Moscow River in the northern Black Sea have been moved further south, according to US intelligence.
According to Kiev, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet was hit by two Ukrainian Neptun missiles on Wednesday evening. The Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych even declared the warship to have sunk. The Russian Ministry of Defense only confirmed damage to the ship and assured that the “Moskva” was still seaworthy. However, it became clear that the ship would probably be canceled for the time being for the war.