Moscowho Crew Families "Tell Us Life or Death" Anger... Russia "1 Dead, 27 Missing"

Published 23 Apr.2022 19:40(KST)

The Russian Navy's guided missile cruiser Moskva entered port on November 16 last year (local time) after completing a tracking mission of a NATO warship in the Black Sea.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] Russia has disclosed for the first time the scale of human casualties related to the sinking of the Black Sea Fleet flagship Moskva.

On the 22nd (local time), according to major foreign media including CNN, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated in a press release that one person died, 27 went missing, and the remaining 396 were evacuated due to the sinking of the Moskva.

This is the first official acknowledgment by Russia of human casualties about a week after the sinking of the Moskva became known.

Previously known as Russia's pride and serving as the naval command and control ship, the Moskva sank on the 13th after an explosion occurred on the hull. At that time, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that all approximately 500 crew members had been evacuated and did not disclose any further information.

In response, families of the crew members, angered by the lack of information, raised concerns. According to the New York Times (NYT) on the 21st, at least 10 families publicly criticized the Russian government through social networking services (SNS) and urged confirmation of the crew members' whereabouts following the sinking of the Moskva.

Dmitry Shkrebets, whose 19-year-old son was a crew member, recently posted a critical message against the authorities on Russian SNS. He also gathered testimonies from other parents who, like him, did not know the whereabouts of their sons. He then delivered this information to the military rights advocacy group, the "Russian Soldiers' Mothers Committee," requesting help in finding the missing family members from the Moskva.

Anna Shiromaisova, mother of a missing crew member, told the Russian independent media outlet Meduza, "I have not been able to see official documents related to casualties and am searching for my family on my own."

Meanwhile, Ukraine and Russia have conflicting claims regarding the cause of the Moskva's sinking. Ukraine asserts that it was due to an attack by its Neptune anti-ship missiles, while Russia counters that a fire caused by an ammunition explosion on board the Moskva damaged the hull, leading to its sinking.

Western countries including the United States and Europe have supported Ukraine's claim of sinking the ship. According to the Washington Post (WP) on the 15th, a senior U.S. Department of Defense official stated that they believe the Ukrainian Neptune missile struck the Moskva.