Conflicting Reports On Damaged Russian Warship

Moskva, the flagship vessel of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, was evacuated due to a fire, the Russian defense ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

But Ukraine made a conflicting claim that the Russian warship was damaged in a missile attack.

“The fire on the cruiser Moskva is under control. There are no flames visible. Ammunition supplies are no longer exploding,” the ministry said in a statement.

They claimed that Moskva is still afloat, and the main missile armory has not been damaged.

“The crew of the cruiser were evacuated to Black Sea Fleet vessels nearby. Measures are being taken to tow the cruiser into port,” the statement added.

Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Wednesday that the OSCE’s Moscow Mechanism report has found clear patterns of international humanitarian law violations by Russian forces in Ukraine, by targeting hospitals, schools, residential buildings, and other locations where civilians are sheltering.

Substantiating President Biden’s claim that Russian forces are carrying out genocide in Ukraine, Psaki said, “Kremlin rhetoric and Russian media deny the national identity of the Ukrainian people. And the Kremlin has launched a full-scale assault on the sovereignty of the Ukrainian state and its people”.

“what we saw in Bucha was not an anomaly, as Ukrainian forces searched towns that Russian forces previously occupied, as they’re pulling back and moving to the east,” she told reporters.

Psaki said the mayor and the City Council of Mariupol are reporting high numbers of civilian casualties. The train station attack just over the weekend killed more than 50 civilians.

The United Nations said it has recorded 1,892 civilian casualties since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.

“And the real number, we believe, is likely much higher,” according to Psaki.

50 days into the invasion of Ukraine, Russia was forced to retreat from capital Kyiv following stiff resistance from Ukrainian forces. The war is entering a crucial new phase as Russian military is focusing on the eastern region, and its vehicles are reportedly moving towards Donbas.

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