Russian ship Moskva was badly damaged and continued burning Thursday but appeared to be headed under its own power to the Crimean port of Sevastopol, a senior Pentagon official said.
The Pentagon, Russia and Ukraine all provided divergent explanations for the fate of the Moskva – named after the Russian capital – after an explosion and fire aboard the vessel Wednesday. Odesa Gov. Maksym Marchenko said on Telegram that Ukrainian forces struck the guided-missile cruiser with two missiles. Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukraine's president, later said the ship sank, calling it an event of “colossal significance."
Russia’s Ministry of Defense said ammunition had exploded on the Moskva as a result of a fire, according to the state news agency Tass. The ministry said the vessel, which usually sails with about 500 officers and crew, was seriously damaged and the crew evacuated.
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The ministry also said the fire had been contained and the ship would be towed to port with its guided missile launchers intact.
A Pentagon official, who described intelligence assessments on condition of anonymity, said it was unclear whether a missile or an accident caused the explosion. U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said it mattered little for Russia whether the ship was hit by a missile or victimized by an unrelated fire.
“They’ve had to kind of choose between two stories: One story is that it was just incompetence, and the other was that they came under attack," Sullivan said. "Neither is a particularly good outcome for them."
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