Ukrainian officials said their forces had hit the boat with rockets, while Russia acknowledged that a fire had broken out in Moskva but no attack. US and other Western officials could not confirm what caused the blaze. The loss of the so-called warship to the Russian capital is a catastrophic symbolic defeat for Moscow as its troops regroup for a new offensive in eastern Ukraine after retreating from much of the north, including the capital.

		Read more: Russia fires on warship Moskva as Ukraine claims rocket attack 		

The Russian Defense Ministry said the ship sank in a storm while being towed in port. Russia had earlier said that the flames on the ship, which usually carried 500 sailors, forced the entire crew to evacuate. He later said the fire had been contained and that the ship would be towed to port with its rocket launchers intact. The story goes on under the ad The ship was capable of carrying 16 long-range cruise missiles, and its removal reduces Russia’s firepower in the Black Sea. It is also a blow to Russian prestige in a war that is already widely regarded as a historic blunder. Now in its eighth week, the Russian invasion has stopped due to resistance by Ukrainian militants reinforced by weapons and other aid sent by Western nations. In the early days of the war, The Moskva was said to have been the warship that called on Ukrainian soldiers stationed on the Black Sea island of Snake to surrender in a confrontation. In a widely circulated recording, a soldier replied: “Russian warship, go (insultingly) yourself.” The Associated Press has not been able to independently verify the incident, but Ukraine and its supporters see it as an iconic moment of contempt. The country recently unveiled a stamp in her honor. 2:33 A second mass grave has been discovered in Bucha, Ukraine amid allegations that Russia is using chemical warfare A second mass grave has been discovered in Bucha, Ukraine amid allegations that Russia is using chemical warfare. News of the flagship damage overshadowed Russian claims of progress in the southern port city of Mariupol, where it had fought Ukrainians since the early days of the invasion in some of the fiercest fighting – at horrific cost to civilians. The story goes on under the ad Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Wednesday that 1,026 Ukrainian soldiers had been handed over to a metal factory in the city. However, Vadim Denishenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, denied the allegations, telling Current Time TV that “the battle for the port is still going on today.” It was not clear how many forces were still defending Mariupol. Russian state television broadcast footage saying he was from Mariupol and showed dozens of men in camouflage walking with their hands up and carrying others on stretchers. A man was holding a white flag.

		Read more: Here’s why Russia is following Mariupol – and why it may not be the game change it once was 		

Mariupol was the scene of the worst of the war. The number of Ukrainian defenders resisting the Russian siege, which has trapped more than 100,000 civilians in desperate need for food, water and heating, is dwindling. Trending Stories

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The mayor said on Monday that more than 10,000 civilians had been killed in the siege and that the death toll could rise to more than 20,000. Weeks of assault and deprivation left corpses “on the streets,” he said. The occupation of Mariupol is crucial for Russia, as it will allow its forces in the south, which arrived through the annexed Crimean peninsula, to fully connect with troops in the eastern Donbass region, the industrial heart of Ukraine and the target of the forthcoming attack. The story goes on under the ad The Russian military continues to move helicopters and other equipment together for such an effort, according to a senior U.S. defense official, and will likely add more ground combat units “in the coming days.” But it is still unclear when Russia could launch a larger attack on Donbas. 2:14 “Huge suffering”: Exhausted Ukrainians fear possible new Russian attack “Huge suffering”: Exhausted Ukrainians fear possible new Russian attack Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukraine in Donbas since 2014, the same year Russia invaded Crimea. Russia has recognized the independence of the rebel areas in Donbas. The loss of Moskva could delay any new, wide-ranging attack. Maksym Marchenko, governor of the Odessa region across the Black Sea, northwest of Sevastopol, said the Ukrainians hit the ship with two Neptune missiles and caused “serious damage”. Russia’s Defense Ministry said the ammunition on board was fired as a result of the fire, without specifying what caused the fire. He said the “main missile weapons” were not damaged. In addition to cruise missiles, the warship also had air defense missiles and other artillery. The story goes on under the ad Neptune is an anti-ship missile recently developed by Ukraine based on an older Soviet design. The launchers are mounted on trucks near the coast and, according to the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, the missiles can hit targets up to 280 kilometers (175 miles) away. This would have put Moskva within range, based on where it was when the fire started.

		Read more: Russia accuses Ukraine of attacking by helicopter in a cross-border attack 		

Other Russian ships, also in the northern Black Sea, moved south after Moscow caught fire, a senior US defense official said on condition of anonymity, in order to discuss internal military considerations. Before the sinking of Moskva, Yuriy Sak, an adviser to the Ukrainian Defense Minister, told the Associated Press that his removal would mean “we can only have a sigh of relief because that means fewer missiles will reach Ukrainian cities.” The United States has not been able to confirm Ukraine’s claims of a warship strike, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Thursday. However, he described it as a “major blow to Russia”. “They had to choose between two stories: One was that they were just incompetent and the other was that they were attacked, and neither is a particularly good outcome for them,” Sullivan told the Washington Economic Club. . The story goes on under the ad Russia invaded on February 24 and may have lost thousands of fighters. The conflict has killed countless Ukrainian civilians and forced millions more to flee. 1:52 More international aid arrives as Ukraine prepares for next major Russian offensive More international aid arrives as Ukraine prepares for the next major Russian offensive It also further boosts prices at grocery stores and petrol pumps, while sweeping the global economy. The head of the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday that the war had helped the agency downgrade economic forecasts for 143 countries. Also Thursday, Russian authorities accused Ukraine of sending two low-flying military helicopters across the border and firing on residential buildings in the village of Klimovo in Russia’s Bryansk region, about 11 kilometers (7 miles) from the border. Russia’s Investigative Committee says seven people, including a small child, were injured. Russia’s state security service had earlier reported that Ukrainian forces fired mortars at a border crossing in Bryansk as they were crossing the border, forcing them to flee. The story goes on under the ad The reports could not be independently verified. Earlier this month, Ukrainian security officials denied that Kyiv was behind an airstrike on an oil depot in the Russian city of Belgorod, about 55 kilometers (35 miles) from the border. Associated Press reporters around the world contributed to this report. © 2022 The Canadian Press