Russian warship in Black Sea 'badly damaged' by explosion

Russia's Moskva missile cruiser, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, has been hit by heavy fire and the detonation of the stored ammunition.

The Russian Defense Ministry in a statement said yesterday, the ship has been seriously damaged. The statement added that all the crew members had been safely evacuated, causes of the fire are being



investigated.

Meanwhile, it did not specify the cause of the fire, saying it was under investigation. On the other hand, Ukraine said the 186m-long vessel was struck by their Neptune missiles. Ukrainian presidential aide Oleksiy Arestovych said Russian rescuers were unable to reach the vessel, which could have had as many as 510 crew members on board.