Russia still refuses to recognize the death of 27 crew members of the cruiser Moskva — Ukrainian intelligence

Russian officials and special services continue to force the families of Russian sailors to hide information about the death of their relatives on the cruiser Moskva, reports Defence Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine.
27 crew members, including 19 conscripts, are still missing. Only midshipman Vakhrushev was officially buried in Sevastopol.

The commander of the cruiser, Captain First Rank Kuprin, who was one of the first to leave the ship violating the statute, explains that he was trying to save the conscripts — he allegedly received this order after the explosions on the ship.
The command of the Russian Navy and the Black Sea Fleet, Russian authorities, and social security services refuse to meet the relatives of the dead sailors sending them to a group of psychologists, doctors, and lawyers, which was specially created to hide information about the dead and missing conscripts.

Upon learning of the relatives' desire to disclose the information about the victims to mass media, FSB officers came to their homes and places of work to carry out "explanatory work" with threats of criminal liability for "divulging state secrets." However, social tensions among relatives of Russians killed on the cruiser Moskva are growing, says the intelligence.

Sinking of the Moskva

On April 13, it was reported the Ukrainian forces attacked the cruiser Moskva — the flagship of the Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet — with two R-360 Neptune anti-ship missiles. It was the same cruiser that threatened the Ukrainian Forces on Snake Island and received the reply, "Russian warship, go fuck yourself!"

The Russian Defense Ministry first said that the fire was localized, and the ship "maintained buoyancy." Finally, on April 14, the Ministry admitted that the Russian cruiser Moskva sank. However, the Russian Defense Ministry does not recognize that the ship sank due to attacks by the Ukrainian force.

Ukrainian media outlet Militarnyi reported that the cruiser Moskva carried artillery, anti-aircraft, anti-submarine, and mine-torpedo weaponry, including 16 P-1000 Vulcan anti-ship missiles launchers with a range of up to 1,000 km. The cruiser also carried one Ka-27 helicopter on board.