As the smoke continues to rise from the remnants of a “military facility” outside Kyiv that was obliterated in a Russian airstrike early Friday, Russia vowed to step up its attacks across the region after Ukraine claimed responsibility for sinking a key warship—a one-time symbol of Russian might that now symbolizes its impotence.
The 510-crew, 12,490-ton Moskva is the biggest Russian warship to go down in action since World War II. “While being towed… towards the destined port, the vessel lost its balance due to damage sustained in the hull as fire broke out after ammunition exploded,” the Russian military said in a statement. “Given the choppy seas, the vessel sank.” Ukraine says the fire was a result of a precision strike.
Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov trolled Russia, saying the sunken ship will eventually make a great dive site after they push Russia out of their country. “We have one more diving spot in the Black Sea now,” he tweeted Friday. “Will definitely visit the wreck after our victory in the war.”
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Either way, the loss of the Moskva—which first got attention in this war when Ukrainian soldiers on Snake Island told its crew to fuck off—constitutes a demoralizing loss. President Joe Biden’s National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Thursday that the loss was “a big blow to Russia” that could hinder Russia’s military capabilities since it was used as a key launch point for missiles.
The loss predictably angered Putin, according to military analysts, which is the likely impetus behind the new wave of relentless violence against Ukraine and its citizens. CIA Director William J. Burns, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia who is well-versed in Putin’s tactics, warned that an increasingly desperate Putin could soon panic and make good on his threat to use nuclear weapons.
“Given the potential desperation of President Putin and the Russian leadership, given the setbacks that they’ve faced so far, militarily, none of us can take lightly the threat posed by a potential resort to tactical nuclear weapons or low-yield nuclear weapons,” Burns said Thursday at an event at Georgia Institute of Technology, according to The New York Times. “I have watched over the years as Putin has stewed in a combustible combination of grievance and ambition and insecurity.”
New threats against Kyiv came after a string of global leaders visited the city for talks and photo ops with Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky in recent weeks. Both President Biden and Pope Francis have expressed the desire to visit the city, which some experts say Putin sees as an embarrassment after his troops’ sloppy withdrawal in recent weeks.
As Putin’s venomous threats against the capital continue, his action in the east intensified Friday. The regional head of the separatist Donetsk region said Friday that “almost all settlements of the Donetsk region along the front line are under attack” as Russia tightened its grip on the heavily contested region. Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of regional military administration, said evacuations continue, which could put civilians at risk. “Despite constant shelling, civilians are being evacuated from the community on a daily basis,” he said, according to CNN. “As of today, at least 350 people have been moved from Maryinka.”
