Moscow has declared one person dead, and 27 missing after Russian warship Moskva sank in the Black Sea, Agence France-Presse reported. Russian state media, TASS, also confirmed the news. 

The Russian Ministry of Defense made a statement, Friday, which added that the remaining 396 crew members had been evacuated from the sunk cruiser to nearby ships and delivered to Sevastopol.

On April 14, news of the Russian warship sinking came, and while Moscow maintained that a fire started, leading to the eventual sinking, Ukraine has claimed its Neptune missiles wrought destruction upon Moskva. The vessel had gained notoriety at the start of the invasion when it ordered Ukrainians on Snake Island to lay down their weapons. The defiant reply, “Russian warship, go f**k yourself“, became a rallying cry for Ukraine. 

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The incident marks Russia’s biggest naval loss in recent history. The last time the nation lost warships was in the Battle of Tsushima in 1905. 

After Ukraine’s apparent assault on the Russian warship, there were bombings in some of the western Ukrainian cities like Kyiv and Lviv. The Moskva was a symbol of Russia’s maritime strength in Ukraine and headed its assault from the water. 

It played a major role in supporting Russian troops during the Syrian conflict as well and has had a distinguished time in the military after it was designed during the Soviet Union. 

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The Neptune missiles that Ukraine used, were reportedly made after the Russian annexation of Crimea, which heightened the threat in the Black Sea. The president of the besieged nation, Volodymyr Zelensky, is also constantly urging the world to bolster military aid to Ukraine. While nations like the US are more than willing to send basic weapons and ammunition, not many are keen on sending jets or complex machinery, which is what the president is seeking. 

Ukrainians, however, are relying on crowdfunding to try and obtain fighter jets to hold off the Russian invasion.