Russia decides to collect $29 million from Ukrainian officer for sinking of Moskva cruiser

The Second Western District Military Court in Moscow has sentenced the commander of the 406th Artillery Brigade of the Ukrainian Navy for the sinking of the cruiser Moskva to life imprisonment in absentia.

This was reported by the Militarny media outlet with reference to Mediazone.

In addition, the court ruled to recover 2.2 billion rubles, or about $29 million, from the Ukrainian military. The court's press service said that the explosion, fire, and smoke killed 20 crew members of the cruiser, and 24 sailors sustained injuries of varying severity. Eight more people went missing, including during the fight for the ship's survival, which lasted more than six hours. According to the court, one person was wounded in the attack on the Admiral Essen frigate.

The cruiser Moskva, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, was sunk in mid-April 2022. According to the Ukrainian military, the ship was hit by two Neptune anti-ship missiles. As a result of the strike, ammunition detonated on board, causing serious damage to the ship.

Initially, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the cruiser remained buoyant and the fire on board was localized. However, later it was officially confirmed that the ship sank due to a storm while being towed to Sevastopol.

For a long time, the Russian side did not disclose information about the losses. Only nine days after the attack, they reported that one sailor was killed on board, 27 went missing, and 396 crew members were evacuated. On April 22, 2022, the then Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Oleksiy Danilov, estimated that Russia was able to rescue 58 of the 510 people on board.

The Moscow cruiser became famous thanks to a phrase by a Ukrainian border guard that became a meme. In April 2025, Ukrainian Navy Commander Oleksiy Neizhpapa spoke about the details of the damage to the Russian Black Sea Fleet flagship Moskva. Although a hit by two missiles seemed unlikely, a combination of several factors led to its sinking.

Кирило Бойко