Anish Vij
Vladimir Solovyov who is a leading Russian TV presenter has slammed the Russian Navy over the sinking of Russia's flagship, the Moskva.
The Russian defence ministry confirmed that the missile cruiser had sunk off the coast of Odessa.
At the time, there were contrasting reports, which claimed that the vessel had suffered an accidental fire, causing ammunition onboard to detonate, resulting in a violent explosion.
However, the Ukrainian military claims that its military had fired two R-360 Neptune anti-ship missiles at the warship from the shore.
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Well, Solovyov, 58, is known as 'Putin's voice' and showcased his anger of the incident in a nationwide broadcast on Russia-1, reports the Daily Mail.
"I am furious about what happened to the Black Sea Fleet’s flagship, Moskva," said the state TV anchor, sanctioned for his links to Putin.
"I am simply furious.
"And yes, we say it was quite old, and went through repairs and, yes, this series of ships has vulnerabilities. I get it.
"But tell me this: how did you manage to lose it. Explain me, why the hell you were in that particular area of the Black Sea, at that time?"
Solovyov went on to say: "And I don’t care what exactly happened - if indeed [it was] the two Neptune missiles as the Ukrainians said.
"Anyway, since when was a combat ship scared of a missile strike, since it has a defence system?
"So, was something not activated?
"Okay. Even if it was hit with two missiles, and it ignited the ammunition…
"What happened to your fire fighting system?"
Photographs of the vessel after the alleged strike have been shared on social media.
In one of the pictures, the Moskva can be seen tilting to its side, with smoke billowing out.
The second is slightly zoomed in and gives a better view of the damage.
The origin of the images is still unknown, but they were shared with the caption: "And here is the first, confirmed frame of 'Moscow' after .. the incident.
"There are traces of a powerful fire in the compartments, traces of damage to the skin under the main superstructure and a roll to the port side (everything, according to the reports of the Armed Forces of Ukraine).
"PU with KR are intact, their detonation obviously did not occur."
There were 510 crew members on board the Moskva, and it remains unclear how many people were killed.
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