There were dozens of people in Sevastopol on Friday who turned out to mourn the loss of the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, which served as a symbol of hope, vigor, and power until it took its final breath.
As several people embraced each other, others laid flowers in memory of the Moskva cruiser in the center of Sevastopol, the home port of the Black Sea Fleet, on a monument honoring the foundation of the Russian navy in 1696.
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A fire caused by an ammunition explosion caused the ship to sink in stormy seas after being towed by Russia, which annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
According to Ukraine, one of its missiles was responsible for the sinking of the ship.
The Moskva became a symbol for all the people after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Sergei Gorbachev, addressing the crowd dressed in his uniform as the Russian Fleet’s Reserve Captain, said it was a symbol of our strength, a symbol of hope, a symbol of the Fleet’s recovery.
“There will be victories, there will be tragedies, but the memory remains,” Gorbachev stated.
A number of people who served on the ship were among the crowd who stood silently in respect. The Russian military’s symbol, the St. George’s Ribbon, was worn by some.
“The loss of every ship, especially a flagship, is a tragedy for all those tens of thousands of people who served there for over 20 years,” said priest Georgiy Ployakov.
A number of Russian troops were deployed to Ukraine on Feb. 24 as part of a “special operation”.