| | | Putin's navy on the run! Russian warships move away from Ukrainian coast after 'missile strike' destroyed flagship Moskva cruiser amid claims of 'hundreds' of casualties
Moskva, flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet, has been 'seriously damaged' after a fire and explosions on board
Ukraine says ship was hit by two of its cruise missiles, causing it to start sinking with hundreds of casualties
Naval experts say the ship was left vulnerable by sailing in predictable patters within range of Ukrainian missiles, and that its missile defence systems were 'dated' Russia has admitted the ship is damaged but made no mention of an attack, saying the ship is still 'buoyant'
Now, a senior US official has said Moscow has moved its warships 80 miles away from the Ukrainian coast
The official said the Moskva is still dealing with a fire and is believed to have experienced significant damage
By CHRIS PLEASANCE and CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 12:32 EDT, 14 April 2022
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Russia has moved its warships away from the Ukrainian coast, a United States defence official said today, after a double missile strike is believed to slammed into the navy's Black Sea flagship and caused it to 'start sinking'.
In a sign the Kremlin may be withdrawing its naval forces out of missile range, the senior official said that Moscow's vessels are now 80 nautical miles from the coast after the Moskva - a Soviet-era Slava class guided missile cruiser - was 'seriously damaged' overnight by a fire and explosion.
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The ship has also been straying close to shore and on at least one occasion appears to have been within 40 miles of the coast, making it vulnerable to missile batteries which have a range of up to 170 miles.
Kyiv officially claimed earlier to have been behind the attack that it said caused the warship to 'start sinking', as naval analysts say the vessel and its 510-strong crew were left sitting ducks after sailing in predictable patterns within range of Ukraine's coastal missile batteries.
Ukraine says the fire on board was caused by two Neptune cruise missiles fired by one of its batteries near the port city of Odesa. Hundreds of sailors may have died in the strike.
Ukraine's Southern Military Command said today that it hit the warship late Wednesday, causing significant damage and starting a fire on board. Russian rescue ships were hampered by ammunition exploding on board as well as bad weather and the Moskva has now started sinking, the commanders added.
John Kirby, spokesman for the Pentagon, said the ship was 60 miles off the coast of Odesa when it suffered 'a fairly major' explosion that caused 'extensive damage'.
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The Moskva is supposed to be equipped with powerful radar arrays to guide its anti-ship, anti-air and anti-submarine missiles which are also used to operate six 'close-in weapons systems' that are designed to take out incoming missiles.
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The defence ministry also said the crew has been evacuated, but made no mention of casualties. Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian ministry of defence, believes that 'hundreds' of sailors may have died in the blast - a view shared by Ilya Ponomarev, an anti-Putin Russian politician, who said that only 50 of the 510-strong crew have so-far been confirmed as rescued.
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