The images, which have not been confirmed by independents, show a cloud of black smoke emerging from heavily damaged Moscow, which was reportedly hit by a Ukrainian missile strike last week. The images show that the ship’s lifeboats have been deployed and no sailors are seen on deck, suggesting that the ship may have been abandoned. In the pictures, Moskva refers to the port as two fire hoses launch streams of water into the air. A three-second video shot by a nearby ship appears to show a rescue tug approaching burning Moscow. The short recording ends abruptly as a man nearby shouts, “What the hell are you doing?” Several military analysts consulted by the Guardian said the images looked consistent with Moskva but that the photographs would require independent confirmation. The source of the photos and video is unknown and was first published by Osint researchers after the Russian war in Ukraine. “I think the video is real. Everything we see is shape, size. “It’s Moscow,” Yörük Işık, a journalist and ship observer who photographed Russian warships sailing in the Bosphorus, told the Guardian. He said he believed at least one of the photos was taken by a Project 22870 rescue tug, from which Russia is believed to have two in the Black Sea. The Moskva was being towed to the port of Sevastopol when it sank, the Russian Defense Ministry said. “These tugs are always around what the other warships are involved in,” he said in a statement. The Russian Ministry of Defense has released very little information about how the ship sank, claiming that the damage to the boat was caused by an accident on the ship. The Ukrainian government, along with Western intelligence officials, say the ship was hit by several Ukrainian anti-ship missiles. HI Sutton, a naval analyst and author, wrote that “the damage does not rule out a missile attack and remains a possible cause. Possible puncture marks on the side of the hull are visible below the point where the fire is located. “But these would need to be examined more closely to see if they were caused by missiles or just fire damage.” Volodymyr Zelenskiy: Russia wants to “destroy” the Donbas region of Ukraine – video The Russian government claims that the ship sank in “stormy seas” while being towed to the port of Sevastopol. But the location of the fire could indicate that it reached missiles against the ship or anti-aircraft missile, causing a “catastrophic explosion,” Sutton wrote. There have been previously unconfirmed media reports of a major explosion on the ship. The Russian government also did not confirm any information on the number of casualties from the incident, publishing only a short video from the top meeting of the Russian Navy with some members of the crew. The absence of lifeboats on board indicates that a significant number of crew could have been rescued. “All the canisters on the rear life raft have been discarded, although one remains on the rear deck,” Sutton wrote. “This suggests that the crew has already left the ship at this point.” But other independent Russian media reported Monday that up to 200 sailors could be injured in the attack on the ship. The ship was reported to have had a crew of about 500 people.