Russia demonstrates the crew of the sinking battleship Moskva — With relatively few people missing

On Saturday, the Russian Defense Ministry released a short video of the meeting of the head of the Navy with crew members of the sunken warship Moscow, as social media posts appeared confirming At least one person died on board.

In a 26-second video — the crew’s first public appearance since Moscow admitted the country’s most powerful warship had been sunk — Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov is seen meeting with members of the crew. crew at Sevastopol. About 100 sailors could be seen, although at least 500 were on board at the time the ship crashed after Ukrainian officials said they had successfully hit it with at least one Neptune missile.

Moscow, which acknowledged the ship was “severely damaged” but blamed it on exploding ammunition on board, claimed all crew members had been rescued without providing any details on where. their accommodation after the disaster.

Ukrainian authorities say some of the ship’s crew, who were famously told by a Ukrainian soldier, “Make love to yourself,” did not survive.

At least one crew member appears to have been publicly mourning on the Russian website Odnoklassniki, according to a report Saturday by Radio Free Europe/Radio Freedom Ukraine.

In a post by a woman identified as his widow, Ivan Vakhrushev is said to have “died in fulfillment of his duty” aboard the ship. “He fought to his last breath for the life of the ship,” the post read.

News agencies reported that the woman, Varvara Vakhrusheva, confirmed in a follow-up letter that her husband, who was responsible for the safe operation of the ship, had died on board.

“They discovered his body,” she was quoted as telling the outlet, adding that she had been notified by the military commander.

At least 27 other crew members of the ship have yet to be notified.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Telegram on Saturday that all of the ship’s crew members will “continue to serve in the Navy,” but did not comment on the fate of the ship. Hundreds of sailors appear to be missing. Sevastopol photo-op.