Moscow insights - fates and questions
Since the heavy blow suffered by the Russian Federation's navy with the sinking of the Slava-class cruiser and naval flagship "Moskva" on 14 April, there has been hardly any reliable information on the whereabouts of the commander of the cruiser and the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, as well as parts of the crew. Ukrainian services reported quite early on that the fleet commander had been removed from office and detained, and it is known that he was not seen in public either in Moscow or in Sevastopol during the great victory parade on 9 May. Western services, in particular the London Ministry of Defence, have now confirmed that Vice Admiral Igor Osipov has been removed from office.
The dead live longer
In the meantime, various media suspected that Osipov had embarked on board his flagship during the shelling of the "Moskva" and was one of the victims of the sinking. This was deduced from the mysterious wording used to explain his absence at the official events: Osipov was at his "combat post" and was not in the "condition" to take part in such "celebrations". He had not been seen alive since the sinking of the "Moskva" - and the worst was deduced from this!
Commander probably stayed on board
However, it is becoming increasingly clear - at least according to British media reports based on Ukrainian information - that the flagship's commander, Captain First Class Anton Kurpin, was probably among the dead. There is of course no confirmation of this from Moscow, nor is there any further information on the actual number of victims and casualties of the sinking. This always leaves room for speculation.
Nuclear fears
Equally unclear is the quality of the ammunition carried on board the "Moskva", which was possibly damaged but certainly sunk: did the cruiser have nuclear armament on board? How many heads were there - were two of the 16 large sea target missiles SS-N-12B/P-1000 Sandbox/Vulkan equipped with nuclear 350 kT warheads, as is feared? How were they stored - or were they combat-ready in the silo? Where are these munitions now and what condition are they in? These are questions that not only concern the two opponents, but are of burning interest to all neighbours of the Black Sea. In any case, the incident is likely to become a case for international bodies such as the United Nations and nuclear regulatory authorities.
Not an isolated case
Incidentally, the commander of the Russian troops in the Kharkiv area is said to have suffered a similar fate to the head of the Black Sea Fleet, who had to leave the previously conquered area for Russia again in recent weeks under Ukrainian pressure.
Public insights
At the beginning of the week, the Former military journalist Colonel Mikhail Khodarenok pointed out the many inconsistencies of the "everything is going according to plan in the special military operation", the professionalism of the Ukrainian armed forces and the international sanctions imposed on Russia by 42 countries in a popular talk show on Russian state television in the face of verbal resistance from the presenter. Two days later, in the same place, he was allowed to considerably relativise his statements - they were merely Russian initial mistakes, now everything is getting better, everything is fine! Russia will probably have to do without his assessments for a while. Chodarenok, born in 1954, was an air force officer, served in the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian armed forces and was transferred to the reserve at an early stage in 2000 so that he could work as a journalist. Incidentally, he also provided the basis for the analysis of the Russian Federation's Black Sea Fleet given here in marineforum.online on 14 February 2022 before the invasion of Ukraine.
To the video on n-tv.de:
https://www.n-tv.de/mediathek/videos/politik/Kritische-Meinung-im-russischen-Staats-TV-Ex-Oberst-widerspricht-Propaganda-oeffentlich-article23338002.html?dicbo=v2-2cd52899df3fa1e3d7d419881affecc8
English 
German
0 Kommentare