FILE - In this photo provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, Russian missile cruiser Moskva is on patrol in the Mediterranean Sea near the Syrian coast on Dec. 17, 2015.
Highlights
- World War III has started, Russian State TV said following reports of sinking of its warship Moskva
- Russia previously accused Ukraine of shelling or attacking its border regions.
- Russia has been at war with Ukraine for more than 50 days now
Russia Ukraine News: World War III has started, Russian State TV said following reports of the sinking of its warship Moskva in the Black Sea. While Ukraine has been claiming that it destroyed the Russian naval vessel, Russia said that the ship was damaged in a massive fire onboard.
A video clip from Kremlin's main propaganda mouthpiece Russia 1 has gone viral showing the presenter Olga Skabeyeva saying that the military conflict has escalated into what can "safely be called World War III".
Attack on Kyiv will increase, warns Russia
Russia's Defense Ministry on Friday warned to ramp up missile attacks on Ukrainian capital Kyiv in response to Ukraine’s alleged aggression on Russian territory.
"The number and the scale of missile attacks on objects in Kyiv will be ramped up in response to the Kyiv nationalist regime committing any terrorist attacks or diversions on the Russian territory," Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said
Russia previously accused Ukraine of shelling or attacking its border regions. Ukrainian officials have not confirmed striking targets in Russia, and the reports could not be independently verified.
However, Ukrainian officials insist their forces did strike a key Russian warship with missiles. If true, the reported Wednesday attack on the guided-missile cruiser Moskva, named for the Russian capital, would represent an important victory for Ukraine and a symbolic defeat for Russia.
The flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet sank while being towed to port Thursday after suffering heavy damage under circumstances that remained in dispute. Moscow acknowledged a fire on board but not any attack. U.S. and other Western officials could not confirm what caused the blaze, AP reported.
The Moskva had the capacity to carry 16 long-range cruise missiles. If Ukrainian forces took out the vessel, it was likely the largest warship to be sunk in combat since the Falklands War. A British submarine torpedoed an Argentine navy cruiser called the ARA General Belgrano during the 1982 conflict, killing over 300 sailors.
(With inputs from AP)
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