The Russian Ministry of Defence has announced that the Moskva missile cruiser sank at around midnight while being towed to Sevastopol, after an explosion and a fire on board. According to the Russian authorities, the ship sank as a result of a heavy storm and hull damage. Ukraine says the missile carrier was hit by two missiles. 

Moskva provided the anti-air defence of the Russian advance’s Southern flank. After the news of the cruiser’s sinking, powerful explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.

“The threat of Russia potentially using tactical or low-yield nuclear weapons in Ukraine cannot be taken lightly, but the CIA has not seen a lot of practical evidence reinforcing that concern,” CIA Director William Burns said, talking at the Georgia Institute of Technology of the “potential desperation” and setbacks Putin has been suffering.

“We have withstood 50 days already, although the occupiers gave us a maximum of five,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated in his regular address. The Russian forces are building defence lines in Kherson region and are advancing towards Donetsk and Luhansk. The Ukrainian forces have reported they have staved off nine attacks in the past 24 hours