First Images of the Lost Russian Cruiser Moskva Emerge

 

Purported image of Moskva on her final day afloat. Analysts suggest that the image is consistent with the vessel's configuration and Ukrainian accounts of the strike.

A bystander video released Monday appears to corroborate the evidence in these photos, and it has been added below.

The first images believed to be of the damaged cruiser Moskva began circulating on social media on Sunday, and open-source intelligence analysts suggest that the photos appear to be authentic. They match closely with previous images of Moskva, and the details of the scene align closely with one of the two competing accounts of the vessel's demise.

Moskva was the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, and she was the largest surface combatant lost in action since the end of the Second World War. The Russian Navy has released very little information about the circumstances of her sinking. According to official accounts carried by Russian state media, the Moskva was badly damaged by an accidental fire and a magazine explosion, and later went down in rough weather while under tow. No official casualty numbers have been released.

First ever footage of the Russian ship Moskva before it sank pic.twitter.com/YOYrmMz8MC

— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) April 18, 2022

The government of Ukraine has claimed that it hit the Moskva with two domestically-produced Neptune anti-ship missiles from a coastal defense battery. The Pentagon has confirmed Ukraine's account of the casualty.

If verified, the photos appear consistent with an anti-ship missile strike, according to independent open-source analysts. The most detailed image (top) appears to show two holes amidships at the waterline, just below the stacks on the port side. Significant fire damage is visible abovedecks, and the ship has clearly settled from flooding, with a pronounced list to port. Black smoke marks at multiple hull penetrations near the main deck level are consistent with an internal fire running aft of the site of impact, according to analysts.

According to analyst H.I. Sutton and others, the two streams of water seen behind the cruiser may be from the monitors of a firefighting tug, which may be hidden from view by the Moskva's hangar structure aft. The tug's mast is just visible to the right of the radome on the top of the hangar.

 

***BREAKING*** -> https://t.co/JfGRiqMVf6#Moskva Sinking: Images Reveal Once Powerful Russian Navy Ship On Fire

First analysis shows fire aft of Vulkan missiles and ahead of S-300 missiles, Possibly this is before a larger explosion

First analysis, caveats apply, OSINT pic.twitter.com/b4FbBHsxLo

— H I Sutton (@CovertShores) April 17, 2022

All the aft port side lifeboats appear to have been deployed. pic.twitter.com/cTcmfhbxl5

— Oliver Alexander (@OAlexanderDK) April 17, 2022

The weather and surface conditions appear to be mild, contrary to official Russian accounts of the loss, and the cruiser does not appear to be making way under tow. Her life rafts are missing, suggesting an evacuation had already been conducted at the time the images were taken.

4/19/2022 12:02:00 AM