Powerful explosions have been heard in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, hours after a Russian warship allegedly attacked by Ukraine had sunk.
The Moskva, a missile cruiser, is the flagship of the Kremlin's Black Sea fleet and is understood to have sunk as it was towed back to port during bad weather after an explosion and fire.
Earlier, Russia's defence ministry said the Soviet-era vessel had been badly damaged by a fire, which Ukraine said was a result of its missile strike.
The Moskva's crew was evacuated on to other ships in the area, according to the Russian defence ministry, which admitted earlier that it was badly damaged.
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Russians 'shaping operations' as they prepare for Donbas move
Overnight, air raid sirens were going off over much of Ukraine.
In addition to the capital Kyiv, blasts were also heard in the southern city of Kherson, the eastern city of Kharkiv and in Ukraine's western city of Ivano-Frankivsk.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin is continuing to marshal its forces for a possible offensive in eastern Ukraine, with additional equipment arriving to the north of the Donbas region and across the border in western Russia, according to a senior US defence official.
Speaking on Thursday, the official said Russia is "shaping operations" - setting conditions for what they want to do - but that the fresh offensive has not yet begun.
Further south, the besieged city of Mariupol remains contested between defenders and Russian forces.
Off the coast of Ukraine, the defence official said Russia's naval forces have moved following the sinking of the Moskva.
They said: "The only other maritime activity worth noting is that we did note that other Black Sea ships that were operating in the vicinity of her or in the northern Black Sea have all moved further south."
Russia says Moskva sank in 'stormy sea conditions' but Ukraine claims responsibility
"During the towing of the cruiser Moskva to the port of destination, the ship lost stability due to the damage to the hull received during the fire from the detonation of ammunition," the Russian defence ministry has been cited as saying.
"In the stormy sea conditions, the ship has sunk."
However Ukrainian media say that two Neptune missiles, which are anti-ship missiles, were used in the attack, but these claims have not been independently verified.
A Ukrainian source told Sky News earlier: "She is on fire. The level of damage is being clarified… She is about 25 nautical miles from Snake Island."
Maksim Marchenko, the governor of Odesa, said on Telegram: "It has been confirmed that the missile cruiser Moskva today went exactly where it was sent by our border guards on Snake Island!
"Neptune missiles guarding the Black Sea caused very serious damage to the Russian ship.
"Glory to Ukraine!"
Read more: Why the sinking of Russia's warship is an embarrassment for Putin
Ukraine's claims were not confirmed by Russia and have not been verified by Western officials.
In comments reported by Tass news agency, Moscow's defence ministry said ammunition detonated on board "as a result of a fire", the cause of which is being investigated.
The Pentagon earlier said the cruiser missile ship, one of three Russia has in this class, was roughly 600ft long and could hold almost 500 sailors on board.
The ship was designed for air defence, the spokesperson added.
Read more: Why is Russia focusing on east Ukraine?
A 'symbolic' event on 'both sides'
The Ukrainian version of events - that the fire was caused by a missile strike - was "more likely" to be correct, air marshal Phil Osborn, former chief of UK defence intelligence, told Sky News before the ship sank.
The development is "quite symbolic on both sides", he said, adding that the Moskva is "quite a significant vessel as far as Russia is concerned".
Presuming the cruiser was indeed hit by a Ukrainian missile, the impact is "less the loss of the ship and more a demonstration of Ukrainian capability", he added.
The Moskva, which dates from the Soviet era, was commissioned 40 years ago but has been refitted, he said.
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Mr Marchenko's comments about the ship sinking refer to an incident the day after Russia's invasion began, when the Moskva was one of two Russian vessels approaching Snake Island in the Black Sea.
The Russians ordered 13 Ukrainian soldiers defending the island to surrender, prompting one to tell the Moskva and its crew to "go f*** yourself" over radio.
At first, it was thought the Ukrainian soldiers had been killed, but the country's navy later said they had been captured alive by Russia.
Zelenskyy praises Ukrainians for surviving 50 days of war
In his nightly address on Thursday, President Zelenskyy said Ukrainians should be proud of having survived 50 days under the Russian attack.
He described it as "an achievement of millions of Ukrainians, of everyone who on 24 February made the most important decision of their life - to fight."
President Zelenskyy gave an extensive list of how Ukrainians helped fend off the Russian troops, including "those who showed that Russian warships can sail away, even if it's to the bottom" of the sea - referencing the Moskva cruiser.
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2022-04-15 05:41:11Z
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