Russia said the flagship of its Black Sea fleet was “severely” damaged Wednesday and its crew evacuated following an explosion that a Ukrainian official said was a result of a missile strike.
Odessa Gov. Maksym Marchenko said on Telegram that Ukrainian forces struck the guided-missile cruiser Moskva — the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet — with two missiles and caused “serious damage.” The cruiser usually has about 500 officers and crew, according to The Associated Press.
Hours later, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said ammunition had exploded on Moskva as a result of “a fire,” according to the state news agency Tass. “As a result of a fire, ammunition detonated on the Moskva missile cruiser. The ship was seriously damaged. The crew was completely evacuated,” the ministry added.
Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 with the goal, according to Western officials, of taking Kyiv, toppling the government and installing a Moscow-friendly one. But the ground advance slowly stalled and Russia lost potentially thousands of fighters.
Elsewhere, in one of the most crucial battles of the war, Russia said more than 1,000 Ukrainian troops had surrendered in the besieged southern port of Mariupol, where Ukrainian forces have been holding out in pockets of the city. A Ukrainian official denied the claim, which could not be verified.
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Latest developments
►The frayed relations between Ukraine and Germany may have taken a turn for the worse Wednesday when German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed his aggravation over a diplomatic snub and said he has no intention to travel to Kyiv anytime soon.
►Authorities in the east-central Ukraine city of Dnipro say they are willing to help return to Russia the bodies of more than 1,500 Russian soldiers now in city morgues.
►WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus slammed the global community Wednesday for turning a blind eye on crises outside Ukraine and questioned whether “the world really gives equal attention to Black and white lives,” citing dire issues of war, disease and famine in countries such as Ethiopia, Yemen, Afghanistan and Syria.
Biden commits another $800M in assistance during call with Zelenskyy
President Joe Biden spoke by phone with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for almost an hour Wednesday, one day after Zelenskyy praised Biden for accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of “genocide.”
Biden said in a statement that he has authorized an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine, including weapons and ammunition.
“The Ukrainian military has used the weapons we are providing to devastating effect,” Biden said. “As Russia prepares to intensify its attack in the Donbas region, the United States will continue to provide Ukraine with the capabilities to defend itself.”
Zelenskyy tweeted that he and Biden discussed the new weapons shipment, enhanced sanctions against the Russians and seeking justice for their war crimes. In his nightly address to the nation, Zelenskyy said he’s “sincerely thankful” for the new US military aid.
VISUAL EXPLAINER:Mapping and tracking Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Alarmed Finns warm to join NATO amid
Thousands of Finns have signed up with training associations to sharpen their military skills or learn new ones, an interest fueled by anxiety over Finland’s geographic proximity to Russia. For the first time in Finland’s history, a majority of Finns are in favor of joining NATO.
“Many people say they are alarmed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, they want to keep their military capabilities up to date, they want to learn new things, they want maybe to make up for mandatory service they didn’t take very seriously at the time,” said Ossi Hietala, training officer for the National Defense Training Association of Finland. “They want to make sure they are prepared for the worst.”
Finland, with 5.5 million people, remains one of the few European nations with mandatory military service, primarily because of its 830-mile border with Russia. Read more here.
– Tami Abdullah
Contributing: The Associated Press
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism