Watch: New video of Russian warship Moskva before it sank

Russia-Ukraine war: The Moskva warship was spearheading Russia's naval effort. (Image credit: Screengrab from video tweeted by @modesud_osint)

A video has emerged online reportedly showing damaged Russian warship Moskva before it sank in the Black Sea last week. Ukraine claimed that it struck the cruiser with a missile, while Russia said ammunition on board had exploded.

The three-second video, tweeted by several verified accounts, showed thick clouds of smoke emerging from the ship.

The Moskva. On fire, and listing heavily. Putin’s miscalculation in one image pic.twitter.com/6eyLaOSeTW

— James Longman (@JamesAALongman) April 18, 2022

A photo shared by BBC showed the ship heavily damaged and leaning on one side. Naval experts who saw the footage said the damage seemed congruous with a missile strike, the broadcaster reported.

Ukraine war: Dramatic images appear to show sinking Russian warship Moskvahttps://t.co/siV0cmEC4T

— velomarc (@velomarc) April 18, 2022

Russia has not revealed the total number of casualties after Moskva's sinking, and families of the crew are desperate for answers, The Guardian reported. Only a 19-year-old has been confirmed dead. Over 500 crew members were on board Moskva.

The Moskva warship was spearheading  Russia's naval effort amid its war with Ukraine, news agency AFP reported.

But symbol of Russia's might soon became a picture of Ukrainian resistance. In the early days of the Russian offensive, the crew of Moskva had asked a unit of Ukraine border guards to surrender but they flat out refused.

Their defiance was celebrated with a postal stamp showing a Ukrainian soldier using an expletive while standing before the ship. Ukrainians are now lining up outside post offices to buy it.

"That ship was the biggest one they had.... They gambled a lot on it and we destroyed it!" a Ukrainian man told AFP. "It's a new phase of the war, one of victory!"

Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Since then, thousands of civilians are believed to have been killed. More than 48 lakh people have fled Ukraine so far.

(With inputs from AFP)