Russia released video on Saturday showing what it said were crew members of the Moskva, its doomed warship that sank in the Black Sea during a Ukrainian missile attack.
About 120 sailors and officers can be seen in the silent footage standing at attention in uniform. The 26-second clip was posted on the Russian Defense Ministry’s Facebook page.
“The Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Admiral Nikolai Evmenov, and the command of the Black Sea Fleet held a meeting with the crew of the missile cruiser ‘Moskva’ in Sevastopol”, according to the caption of the video.
“The traditions of the Guards missile cruiser ‘Moskva’ will be carefully preserved and continued, as has always been accepted in the Navy,” he continued.
The 600ft-long Slava-class cruiser was carrying a crew of nearly 500 people – all of whom were evacuated before the ship sank on Thursday, the Kremlin insisted.
But the Russian military has not released any photos of a rescue operation.
Dozens of people gathered in Sevastopol, the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, on Saturday to mourn the loss of the Moskva and pay their respects “to the ship and the sailors” with a wreath laying ceremony.
GB2
