DOOMED

Picture Shows Devastated Russian Warship Moskva After Ukraine Missile Strike

The image, which experts say appears to be genuine, shows the badly damaged guided-missile cruiser listing badly and engulfed in smoke.

The first photo has emerged of what appears to be the cruiser Moskva, flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, before it sank last week in Russia’s worst naval loss since World War II. Experts say the images appear to confirm Kyiv’s claims to have hit the warship—famously told to “Go fuck yourself!” by a Ukrainian sailor at the start of the invasion—in a missile attack. The image also suggests that most of the ship’s 500-odd crew had time to evacuate, although it appears that dozens were killed. A snippet of video footage has also emerged showing the ship engulfed in flames shortly before it went down. Russia insists the ship sank after a fire broke out on board, although it has since bombarded the military plant near Kyiv that produces the anti-ship Neptune cruise missile.