The Russian ship Moscow was sunk by two Ukrainian missiles, a “big blow” to Russia, a senior Pentagon official said Friday.
Read more: Live | 51st day of the war
Read more: The Moskva crew could not have been saved
Read more: Moscow has announced that the ship has sunk
“We estimate that they were struck by two Neptunes,” the senior official, who did not want to be named, told a handful of reporters that his debut in Ukrainian theater was “severely damaged by the fire” and denied the Moscow version.
However, the senior official did not confirm the information that the Ukrainian army had diverted the security of Moscow by drone to one side of the ship, while Neptune and Ukrainian anti-ship missiles were equivalent to the French Exhaust. Navy, on the other hand, attacked him.
“We believe there are casualties, but it is difficult to estimate how many,” he added, noting that the United States was watching the survivors by other Russian ships in the area.
Russia, which has not officially acknowledged the sinking of its primary Black Sea Fleet by Ukrainian missiles, said the crew had been evacuated.
“It’s a big blow, a sign,” he added. But above all, the loss of Moskva, one of the three Slava class ships available to Russia, “creates a vacuum in terms of military capabilities” in southern Ukraine, where President Vladimir Putin has decided to focus his next attack.
He explained that under the Montreux Treaty, “Turkey will not allow warships to enter the Black Sea, so (the Russians) will not be able to convert it into another Slava type ship.”
Ankara restricts access to the Black Sea by signing the Treaty of Montreux in 1936, which guarantees free movement of the Phosphorus and Tortonelles Straits, but also gives warships the right to block warships during straits. To their basics.
A senior Pentagon official has warned that the sinking of Moscow could push the Russian navy to show more caution and less commitment in Ukrainian theaters.
