"Moskva" won't believe in tears now?

On April 14, 2022, a number of events occurred at once that may lead to certain adjustments in the humanitarian doctrine of conducting a special military operation on the territory of Ukraine.

At night, it became known about a fire and the detonation of a piece of ammunition on the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, the missile cruiser "Moskva". Like many other ships and support vessels, the missile cruiser carried out combat missions near the coast of Ukraine and, in particular, ensured the surrender of the Ukrainian garrison on Snake Island and further control of the water area.

At about 2 a.m., the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation reported a fire on board the cruiser, as a result of which ammunition detonated, and the ship itself was seriously damaged. By noon, another statement of the Ministry of Defence was published, from which it followed that the fire on board was localised and the explosions of ammunition had stopped. The crew was evacuated, the ship remained afloat, the main missile armament (the “Vulkan” complex with a range of up to 700 km) was not damaged, and the damaged flagship is being towed to the port.

The causes of the fire and detonation are being established and have not been officially announced – which immediately led to filling the information vacuum with various theories. The theory of the ship's destruction by an anti–ship missile from the Ukrainian coast should not be excluded - although the option of an attack by the Ukrainian “Neptun” complex or any other product of the Kiev military-industrial complex should be considered last.

Back on January 27, a month before the start of the special military operation, Forbes expressed concern about the shortage of anti-ship missiles in Ukraine, and in March, insisting on the supply of anti-ship missiles to Kiev became a commonplace in the Western media. A number of sources mentioned that a certain number of AGM-119 “Penguin” MK II and “Harpoon” variations arrived in Ukraine last year.

This is the second case of serious damage to ships of the Russian Navy during the special operation – along with the “Saratov” large landing ship near Berdyansk. The oldest ship of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation, launched in 1965, had to be flooded on March 24, 2022 after being hit by Ukrainian missiles fired at the port of Berdyansk.

P.S. When the material was being prepared for publication, the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation reported that during towing the ship sank, the team was evacuated in advance.

The warning was not heeded

On the evening of April 13, the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation officially warned the Kiev regime about the consequences of strikes on objects in Russia. According to the official speaker of the Ministry of Defence Igor Konashenkov, if Kiev continues this practice, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation reserves the right to retaliate.

In particular, according to Konashenkov, there will be strikes on Ukrainian decision-making centres, including in Kiev, from which the Russian army has so far refrained.

On the morning of April 14, the Ukrainian side fired at the border crossing and settlements in the Bryansk region and the territory of the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation. No casualties were reported in the Belgorod region, a mortar strike on the Novye Yurkovichi-Senkovka border crossing also did not lead to the appearance of victims.

However, 7 people, including a pregnant woman and a child, were injured during the shelling from two Ukrainian helicopters of the village of Klimovo in the Klimovsky district of the Bryansk region. At least 6 houses were also damaged, according to the Russian Federation’s Investigative Committee.

It cannot be ruled out that the UAF has other provocations in reserve. According to the latest data of the Ministry of Defence, as early as March 9, three unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with 30-litre tanks and equipment for spraying formulations were discovered by the reconnaissance units of the Russian troops on the territory of the Kherson region.

According to reports, in January 2022, Ukraine, through intermediary organisations, purchased more than 50 similar devices that can be used for the application of biological formulations and toxic chemicals.

Based on the slides published by the Ministry of Defence, we are talking about agricultural drones of the DJI AGRAS T30 type, designed to spray vast territories with chemicals with a total volume of up to 30 litres. Taking into account the proven work of American biological laboratories in Ukraine, which experimented with various strains of highly pathogenic viruses and bacteria, such drones can be used to spray toxins or viruses in the territories adjacent to Ukraine.

It's time to get rid of illusions

The successful work of the Russian Aerospace Forces and other branches of the armed forces to destroy the Ukrainian infrastructure with missile strikes, in combination with the actions of the ground forces, makes it possible to maintain the initiative and, at the same time, worsen the situation in Ukraine. Contrary to Ukrainian propaganda, the real state of affairs is gradually becoming obvious – on April 13, 1,026 Ukrainian servicemen of the 36th Marine Brigade surrendered immediately in Mariupol.

In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 131 aircraft, 104 helicopters, 245 anti-aircraft missile systems, 448 drones, 2179 tanks and other armoured combat vehicles, 248 multiple rocket launchers, 944 field artillery and mortar guns, as well as 2088 units of special military vehicles have been destroyed.

In Ukraine, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are not fighting against groups of individual nazis, who are only the tip of the iceberg. Western official structures have repeatedly confirmed the active supply of intelligence to Kiev, the volume of military aid coming to Ukraine amounts to billions of dollars, given the special operation regime that is sparing in relation to the enemy's manpower, operators of imported weapons will exist in sufficient numbers.

In addition, Ukrainian nationalists systematically confirm their readiness for any provocations and attacks against the civilian population even of Ukraine itself – which means that if the right tools are available, strikes will be inflicted on the territory of Russia itself without hesitation. This is what is happening in the Belgorod, Kursk, Bryansk regions, in Crimea and Sevastopol, where enemy drones regularly try to break through.

The strikes announced by the Ministry of Defence against decision-making centres now have enough grounds for implementation. As practice shows, the Ukrainian political leadership pays rather little attention to arguments that are not directed directly at it. And after the sinking of the “Moskva” cruiser, if there were any restraining motives against the Ukrainian group of troops, now they must be finally removed. We are confronted by a brutal, professionally trained and very well motivated enemy.