On Thursday, Russia reported that its flagship ‘Moskva’ has been “seriously damaged” due to an explosion on board, following which the crew evacuated the Black sea fleet.

According to the Interfax news agency, Russia’s defence ministry said a fire on the Moskva missile cruiser caused the ammunition to blow up, leading to the blast in the ship.

But the Ukrainian governor of the region around the Black Sea port of Odesa, Maksym Marchenko is telling a different story. “Neptune missiles guarding the Black Sea caused very serious damage,” he said in an online post.

He claims that the Moskva had been hit by two Ukrainian-made Neptune anti-ship cruise missiles.

Last month Ukraine claimed that it had destroyed a landing support ship, the Orsk, on the smaller Sea of Azov, Moskva is the second major ship known to have suffered serious damage since the start of the war. 

This news comes in while the Russian navy is battling to seize full control of the port of Mariupol. Cruise missiles have been launched by the invader, into Ukraine and its activities in the Black Sea is important in supporting the land operations in the south. 

“Russian forces are increasing their activities on the southern and eastern fronts, attempting to avenge their defeats,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a Wednesday night video address.