Ukraine trolls Putin: ‘Can’t wait to scuba dive at sunken Russian warship site’

Ukraine’s defence minister has made a cheeky dig about the sinking of Russia’s Moskva warship which was believed to have been carrying up to 500 sailors.

Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, on April 15, 2022. Picture: Mikhail Klimentyev / Sputnik / AFP.

Ukraine’s defence minister has mocked Russia over the sinking of its flagship warship Moskva which was believed to have been carrying up to 500 sailors.

Ukraine claimed it destroyed the warship, which Moscow disputed, instead saying it had sunk during an attempt to tow it to the nearest port after a fire broke out on board the 186-metre-long vessel.

The ship has played a key role in the war so far and most recently came to global attention when its crew was told to “f**k off” by Ukrainian troops on Snake Island during the early days of the invasion.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov tweeted on Friday that the sunken ship is now “a worthy diving site” he looks forward to visiting when the war ends.

“We have one more diving spot in the Black Sea now,” he wrote.

“Will definitely visit the wreck after our victory in the war. BTW, I already have 300 scuba dives.”

A "flagship" russian warship is a worthy diving site. We have one more diving spot in the Black Sea now. Will definitely visit the wreck after our victory in the war.
BTW, I already have 300 scuba dives pic.twitter.com/q2Buc51qeI

— Oleksii Reznikov (@oleksiireznikov) April 15, 2022

The Moskva missile cruiser had been leading Russia’s naval effort in the seven-week conflict, and the circumstances around its sinking and the fate of its crew remain murky.

Russia’s defence ministry said a blast on the vessel was the result of exploding ammunition and that the resulting damage had caused it to “lose its balance” as it was being towed to port.

The fleet has been blockading the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, where Russian officials say they are in full control.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov attends the talks with Russian negotiators in Belarus' Gomel region on February 28, 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Picture: Sergei Kholodilin / AFP.

Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, on April 15, 2022. Picture: Mikhail Klimentyev / Sputnik / AFP.

Moscow, which invaded Ukraine partly because of deepening ties between Kyiv and NATO, on Friday warned of unspecified “consequences” should Finland and Sweden join the US-led defence alliance.

The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine reminds the russian navy that the Black Sea straits are closed for entry only. The part of your fleet that remains afloat still has a way out.

— Defence of Ukraine (@DefenceU) April 15, 2022

The two countries are considering joining NATO after Russia’s devastating invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.

“The choice is up to the authorities of Sweden and Finland,” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

“But they should understand the consequences of such a step for our bilateral relations and for the architecture of European security as a whole,” she said.

“They will automatically find themselves on the NATO frontline,” Zakharova said. Russian forces last month started withdrawing from around the Ukrainian capital as they are redeployed to focus on territory in the east of the country, but the city remains vulnerable to missile strikes.

The Moskva, a Russian warship, is now at the bottom of the Black Sea. Picture: AFP.

“The number and scale of missile strikes against targets in Kyiv will increase in response to any terrorist attacks or sabotage committed by the Kyiv nationalist regime on Russian territory,” the defence ministry said.

“As a result of the strike on the Zhulyansky machine-building plant ‘Vizar’, the workshops for the production and repair of long-range and medium-range anti-aircraft missile systems, as well as anti-ship missiles, were destroyed.”

Seizing the eastern Donbas region, where Russian-backed separatists control the Donetsk and Lugansk areas, would allow Moscow to create a southern corridor to the occupied Crimean peninsula.

Ukraine said that Russian strikes had killed five people in the area, after President Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow’s forces were aiming to “destroy” the region.