Russian Defence Ministry includes crew of sunken Moskva cruiser on list of servicemen who took part in ‘special operation’ in Ukraine

The Russian Defence Ministry has included Military Unit 84201, where crewmen of the sunken Moskva cruiser served, on the list of military formations who took part in the “special military operation” in Ukraine, Mediazona news outlet reports, citing a response of the Black Sea Fleet prosecutor’s office to a request of Gulnaz Urazayeva, the mother of an injured sailor.

The official response was first published on the Military Ombudsman (Voenny Ombudsmen) Telegram channel. The document says that the Russian Defence Ministry has included the crew of the cruiser on the list of military units and formations that took part in the war “in order to ensure the social rights and guarantees” and in order for the crewmen and their families to receive compensation payments.

Now, the crewmen are eligible for compensation payments stipulated in the president’s decree for Russian servicemen who took part in the “special operation” in Ukraine.

Mediazona points out that the military prosecutor’s office and the Defence Ministry still do not admit that the Black Sea flagship took part in the war in Ukraine. An inspection showed that the vessel where Urazayeva’s son served “did not form part of the forces (units) involved in the special military operation,” and that the ship was “in international waters at the moment of the disaster.”

Gulnaz Uruzayeva is the mother of Bulat Shakirzyanov, a conscript from Russia’s Naberezhnye Chelny who served on the Moskva and was injured in the attack on the cruiser. He is currently receiving treatment at the Kuznetsov Naval Academy in St. Petersburg. Gulnaz Uruzayeva says that her son has had three surgeries, including nerve transplant surgery.

In early May, the Russian military prosecution responded to an address by Dmitry Shkrebets, whose son, conscript Yegor Shkrebets, was declared “missing” from his military unit. The prosecution claims that the ship that Yegor served on did not enter “Ukraine’s territorial waters,” nor did it take part in the “special military operation.” 

On April 13, Ukraine reported that two Neptune missiles had hit the Moskva cruiser. According to the Russian Defence Ministry, the warship was seriously damaged “as a result of detonated ammunition” caused by a fire onboard the ship. 

On April 14, Russia confirmed that the Moskva cruiser had sunk while being towed during a storm. On April 22, the Russian Defence Ministry confirmed the death of one crew member of the Moskva, adding that 27 crewmen are considered missing.

Earlier, Novaya Gazeta. Europe interviewed the mother of another conscript who served on the Moskva cruiser. Her son survived and contacted her the day after the cruiser had sunk. According to the woman, “about 40 people” had died in the sinking of the Moskva, and many were injured. A source in Russia’s Black Sea Fleet told Meduza news outlet that 37 people had died in the sinking of the cruiser, and about 100 were injured.