The attack on the Russian battleship Moskva is a huge victory for the Ukrainian Armed Forces and a "ferocious loss" for Moscow, John Simpson, World Affairs Editor for the BBC, has said. 

Some 500 sailors were on board when the Ukrainians claimed to have fired two missiles at it. Russian authorities have confirmed that a fire broke out and admitted the ship was “seriously damaged”.  

“It looks like the end of the Moskva’s war,” Mr Simpson told The Hard Shoulder.  

“The Russians are saying a fire broke out - they’re not saying how it happened.

“But that is really important. The Moskva would have been the key element in any forthcoming attack on the Ukrainian port of Odessa on the Black Sea coast. 

“Losing Odessa would be a terrible blow to Ukraine - looks now it’ll be really hard for the Russians to work up a proper attack on the city. 

“So it’s a most important moment really as far as Ukraine’s concerned.” 

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Moskva is of huge importance to the Russian Navy and gained global notoriety at the beginning of the war when it attacked Ukraine’s Snake Island. After urging 13 Ukrainian border guards to surrender the ship was told, “Russian warship, go f**k yourself.” 

Moskva then fired and originally all 13 guards were reported dead - although it subsequently emerged they had been taken prisoner. 

“This is the flagship,” Mr Simpson said. 

“This is the biggest thing, this is a cruiser with the kind of missiles on board - cruise missiles - which could attack any part of Ukraine. 

“It’s a pretty ferocious loss that the Russians are sustaining.” 

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at a press conference in Moscow in February 2022. Picture by: dpa picture alliance / Alamy Stock Photo

Mariupol 

However, Mr Simpson added that the outlook for Ukraine was not entirely rosy; the Kremlin has claimed that it now enjoys complete control of the key city of Mariupol following weeks of shelling. It is a claim that, even if it not true now, Mr Simpson expects will be at some point: 

“I don’t think it’s possible really to know for the moment [what the situation is in Mariupol],” he continued. 

“Nobody that I’ve spoken to does really know what’s going on in Mariupol but there will come a point - I don’t think there’s any doubt about it - when Mariupol will fall. 

“It’s a question of how long the resistance can last and indeed it may have already come to an end.”

Main image: Russian cruiser Moskva anchored in the bay of Sevastopol, Crimea, Ukraine on May 7, 2013. Picture by Alamy.com