New details Emerge Regarding the Sinking of the Russian Cruiser Moskva
Recent information released by the Second Western District Military Court of the russian Federation, and afterward reported by Russian media, reveals a higher casualty count than initially reported for the sinking of the Russian missile cruiser Moskva in the Black Sea on April 14, 2022. The court convicted, in absentia, Colonel Andrey Shubin, commander of the 406th Artillery Brigade of the Ukrainian Naval Forces, for his alleged role in the attack, sentencing him to life imprisonment and a fine of 2.2 billion rubles.
The court documents indicate that at least 20 sailors died, 24 were injured, and eight remain missing following the incident. This contrasts with the initial Russian account, which attributed the sinking to a fire and subsequent ammunition detonation.The court’s statement confirms the vessel was struck by missiles.
Ukraine maintains that the Moskva was hit by two Neptune anti-ship missiles. this claim aligns with the court’s finding that Colonel Shubin’s brigade, equipped with RK-360MS “Neptune” coastal missile systems, was responsible for the attack.
[Image of Coastal missile system RK-360MS “Neptune”](https://trud.bg/filemanager/root/January 2026/617116998_122256469034036578_4921079686509522527_n-2.jpg)
The court also implicated Shubin in a prior attack on the Russian frigate Admiral Essen twelve days before the Moskva sinking, resulting in one injury to a Russian sailor.
While the Russian Ministry of Defense initially downplayed the incident, the details released by the military court offer a more comprehensive, though still possibly biased, account of the events and the resulting casualties. The information was briefly published on the court’s website before being removed, adding to the complexity of verifying the details.
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