Sunk Russian ship had nuclear warheads on board?
Russia claims all the Moskva's sailors were 'successfully evacuated'
In this file photo taken on March 30, 2014 the Russian navy patrol ship Pytliviy (L) navigates near the Russian Navy flagship missile cruiser Moskva (R) docked in the bay of the Crimean city of Sevastopol | (Photo by AFP)
KYIV: Russia on Friday said it has hit a plant that was making anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles outside the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
The strike came hours after it admitted that the Moskva, its Black Sea flagship, had sunk following an explosion.
What added to the panic was the speculation that on board the Moskva may have been nuclear warheads. Also, it is feared in some quarters that more than 400 sailors could have gone down with the ship. If true, the loss of the warheads into the Black Sea could spark a 'Broken Arrow' incident -- American military slang for potentially lethal accidents involving nuclear weapons.
Russia claims all the Moskva's sailors were 'successfully evacuated' but a video taken in Sevastopol overnight shows dozens of cars purportedly belonging to the sailors still parked in the port - suggesting their owners had not returned to collect them, reports Daily Mail.
Elsewhere, rumours began circulating in Ukrainian media that Admiral Igor Osipov - the commander of Russia's Black Sea fleet which the Moskva led - has been arrested in what would be the latest in a string of detentions linked to the bungled invasion.
Separately, Russia told the US to stop sending weapons to Ukraine, warning of 'unpredictable consequences' if it continues to do so.
The warning was delivered in the form of an official diplomatic note, which was seen by the Washington Post.
It said that American and NATO shipments of the 'most sensitive' weapons were 'adding fuel' to the conflict, which is now nearing its second month.
The two-page note was delivered after Biden had agreed to a new $800million delivery of military aid to Ukraine, including heavy artillery and shells, helicopters and armoured personnel carriers.
'What the Russians are telling us privately is precisely what we’ve been telling the world publicly — that the massive amount of assistance that we’ve been providing our Ukrainian partners is proving extraordinarily effective,' a senior US official said about the note.
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