Russia to move damaged warship that Ukraine says it hit with missile

KYIV/LVIV • Russia said the crew of its Black Sea Fleet's flagship, the Moskva, were evacuated yesterday and measures were being taken to tow the ship back to port after an explosion of ammunition on board that Ukraine said was caused by a missile strike.

The Moskva was hit by "Neptune" anti-ship cruise missiles, resulting in significant damage and a fire, according to a statement from Ukraine's armed forces posted on Facebook.

"A powerful explosion of the ammunition toppled the cruiser over and it began to sink," it said.

Russia's Defence Ministry, on the other hand, said the fire on the Soviet-era missile cruiser had been contained, even though it left the ship badly damaged.

It did not acknowledge the ship had been attacked and said the cause of the fire was under probe.

The Moskva gained notoriety on Feb 24, the day Russia kicked off its invasion, when it was one of two ships that confronted a small contingent of Ukrainian guards on the tiny Black Sea outpost known as Snake Island.

In an account that entered the Ukrainian war lexicon, the guards reportedly shouted at the ships to leave when ordered to surrender.

An audio recording of the exchange went viral, causing a torrent of patriotic memes.

The incident damaged both Russia's war effort and its prestige, following failed attempts to encircle the Ukrainian capital.

Russia's navy has launched cruise missiles into Ukraine and its activities in the Black Sea are crucial to supporting land operations in the south of the country, where it is battling to seize full control of the port of Mariupol.

Russian forces have pulled back from some northern parts of Ukraine after suffering heavy losses and failing to capture Kyiv, and its Western allies say Moscow is redeploying for a new offensive.

"Russian forces are increasing their activities on the southern and eastern fronts, attempting to avenge their defeats," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Wednesday night video address.

Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said in televised comments yesterday that Russia was massing troops not only along the Russia-Ukraine border, but also in Belarus and Moldova's breakaway Transdniestria region.

In more fighting, the Kharkiv, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions in the country's east were being hit by missile strikes, Ms Malyar said.

Kharkiv's governor said four civilians had been killed by shelling.

Russia said on Wednesday that more than 1,000 Ukrainian marines from one of the scattered units still holding out in Mariupol had surrendered. Ukrainian officials did not comment.

In a related development, Ukraine said yesterday that 30 prisoners of war were being returned to the country as part of the most recent exchange of captives with Russia, following an order from Mr Zelensky.

"Five officers and 17 servicemen were exchanged. Also eight civilians, including one woman, were released. In total, 30 of our citizens are going home today," said Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk.

If it is taken, Mariupol would be the first major city to fall to Russia.

Its capture would allow Russia to reinforce a land corridor between separatist-held eastern areas and the Crimea region it seized and annexed in 2014, and free up forces for a wider offensive.

Ms Vereshchuk said nine humanitarian corridors had been agreed on for yesterday to evacuate civilians, including by private car, from Mariupol. Its mayor, Mr Vadym Boichenko, said Russia had brought in mobile crematoria "to get rid of evidence of war crimes".

Meanwhile, Russian officials yesterday said Ukrainian helicopters had hit residential buildings and injured seven people in the Bryansk region, the latest of a series of cross-border attacks that Moscow has said may trigger a retaliatory attack on Kyiv.

The governor of the Belgorod region said a village there was also attacked, but that no one was hurt.

BLOOMBERG, REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE