Moskva is confirmed to have sank in Black Sea (Image via LtTimMcMillan/Twitter)A picture of the Russian Navy’s Moskva warship bursting into embers before sinking into the Black Sea has been confirmed to be genuine.The first verified pictures of the damaged cruiser have surfaced online which show her listing to port, with smoke billowing from her midships section. The news comes a few days after Ukraine stated that it had sunk the ship in a missile attack.Alec Luhn@ASLuhnThe 1st video of the Moskva missile cruiser before it sank, if photos posted last night are accurate. It was listing to one side & on fire inside & out, with the area around the bridge burning intensely from what Ukraine says was 2 missile strikes1:28 AM · Apr 18, 20221424427The 1st video of the Moskva missile cruiser before it sank, if photos posted last night are accurate. It was listing to one side & on fire inside & out, with the area around the bridge burning intensely from what Ukraine says was 2 missile strikes https://t.co/0QpI1tzOrIAlec Luhn@ASLuhnAlthough Russia has not admitted any casualties on the Moskva, @cxemu spoke with a widow who said her husband had been killed & 27 crew members were missing radiosvoboda.org/a/skhemy-ident…1:52 AM · Apr 18, 202211554Although Russia has not admitted any casualties on the Moskva, @cxemu spoke with a widow who said her husband had been killed & 27 crew members were missing radiosvoboda.org/a/skhemy-ident…Although the Kremlin acknowledged the loss of the vessel, it has claimed that the ship was destroyed by an onboard explosion instead of enemy weapons. Sidharth Kaushal, a sea power research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, confirmed that the latest pictures show the warship being gutted by fire.While speaking to a news outlet, he said that he examined the images and the placement of the radar, the canisters for the surface-to-air along with the surface-to-surface missiles and the hull form seem to confirm that they are of a Slava-class cruiser that could be the warship.Alec Luhn@ASLuhn"We looked at every burnt kid. I can’t tell you how hard it was, but I couldn’t find mine."A mother says ~200 sailors are in the hospital after the fire & sinking of the Moskva. >2 are dead & many more missing.Russian gov hasn't admitted any casualties theguardian.com/world/2022/apr…11:32 AM · Apr 18, 20222814"We looked at every burnt kid. I can’t tell you how hard it was, but I couldn’t find mine."A mother says ~200 sailors are in the hospital after the fire & sinking of the Moskva. >2 are dead & many more missing.Russian gov hasn't admitted any casualties theguardian.com/world/2022/apr…Moscow has not confirmed the authenticity of the pictures. Further details are still awaited on the same.Ukraine and Russia respond to how Moskva was destroyedUkraine and Russia agreed that the warship sank, although their stories of how it was destroyed are completely incongruous with one another.Russia and Ukraine agreed that Moskva was destroyed (Image via GrangerE04117/Twitter)Ukraine’s Operational Command South stated on April 14 that the warship started taking on water after being struck by Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship missiles. The statement reads,“In the Black Sea operational zone, Neptune anti-ship cruise missiles hit the cruiser Moskva, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet – it received significant damage. A fire broke out. Other units of a ship’s group tried to help, but a storm and a powerful explosion of ammunition overturned the cruiser and it began to sink.”Meanwhile, Russia claimed that an on-board ammunition storeboard explored and caused serious damage to the vessel. However, this version has been denied by a senior US defense official, citing military intelligence.The number of Russian soldiers who died on the warship remains unknown. A newspaper reported that around 40 people were killed and others are missing.Public reactions on TwitterAs soon as the sinking of the ship was confirmed by experts, Twitter was flooded with people’s reactions:Pjotr Sauer@PjotrSauerFor days after the Moskva cruiser sank, Yulia Tsyvova had been desperately looking for information about her son. Today she received the call from the Russian defence ministry. Andrei was dead. “He was only 19, he was a conscript." With @Andrew__Roth theguardian.com/world/2022/apr…8:08 AM · Apr 18, 20221642598For days after the Moskva cruiser sank, Yulia Tsyvova had been desperately looking for information about her son. Today she received the call from the Russian defence ministry. Andrei was dead. “He was only 19, he was a conscript." With @Andrew__Roth theguardian.com/world/2022/apr…John Konrad V@johnkonradThis is the Russian Flagship #Moskva before she sank. It's impossible to fully assess the situation aboard based on one picture but marine salvage masters must make assumptions based on little information. As a ship captain and ship fire author here's what appears to be likely🧵5:10 AM · Apr 18, 2022238135365This is the Russian Flagship #Moskva before she sank. It's impossible to fully assess the situation aboard based on one picture but marine salvage masters must make assumptions based on little information. As a ship captain and ship fire author here's what appears to be likely🧵 https://t.co/pUjqo4j3BsIllia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦@IAPonomarenkoBREAKING Russian Black Sea Fleet flagship Moskva confirmed sank.The first Russian loss of a flagship since the Russian-Japanese war of 1904-1905. A historic Ukrainian victory.1:51 AM · Apr 15, 202212927618566BREAKING ⚡️⚡️⚡️Russian Black Sea Fleet flagship Moskva confirmed sank.The first Russian loss of a flagship since the Russian-Japanese war of 1904-1905. A historic Ukrainian victory.Nataliya Vasilyeva@Nat_VasilyevaIt's been more than 48hrs since the Moskva sank with 500 people aboard. We still haven't seen any photos/videos of the rescued crew.What is most stunning we haven't seen a single wife or mother going public about the loss, demanding answers from the Russian government.5:04 AM · Apr 16, 20226469611802It's been more than 48hrs since the Moskva sank with 500 people aboard. We still haven't seen any photos/videos of the rescued crew.What is most stunning we haven't seen a single wife or mother going public about the loss, demanding answers from the Russian government.Fred Wellman@FPWellmanLast picture of the Moskva.2:55 AM · Apr 15, 202210374114046Last picture of the Moskva. https://t.co/n0OwTtShUGChristo Grozev@christogrozevThe father of one of the young conscripts who went missing on the Moskva missile cruiser lashes out at the Russian military who are even refusing to tell him what happened to his son.7:11 AM · Apr 18, 202280902416The father of one of the young conscripts who went missing on the Moskva missile cruiser lashes out at the Russian military who are even refusing to tell him what happened to his son. https://t.co/S9m0vtzozSAlex C@cmhwee#Ukraine Last moment of the Russian’s Moskva.3:49 AM · Apr 15, 2022669248#Ukraine Last moment of the Russian’s Moskva. https://t.co/lkpDNQlbt6Mark J Grove@MarkJGroveYes, Moskva was 40 yrs old, her design not the cleverest, her crew undoubtedly complacent & not 100% competent. But this was a 13,000 ton warship, built in the missile age, destroyed by two anti-ship missiles.Not seen for a while, but it's what modern naval warfare can look like.3:30 AM · Apr 18, 20222446283Yes, Moskva was 40 yrs old, her design not the cleverest, her crew undoubtedly complacent & not 100% competent. But this was a 13,000 ton warship, built in the missile age, destroyed by two anti-ship missiles.Not seen for a while, but it's what modern naval warfare can look like. https://t.co/ugbo2EqPl0Darth Putin@DarthPutinKGBDay 54 of my 3 day war. Pictures emerge of perfectly calm hurricane storms Moskva crew were in when it had accident Ukraine must pay for. I remain a master strategist3:10 AM · Apr 18, 2022131501320Day 54 of my 3 day war. Pictures emerge of perfectly calm hurricane storms Moskva crew were in when it had accident Ukraine must pay for. I remain a master strategist https://t.co/8sUjocu3O2Tom Nichols@RadioFreeTomIf the #Moskva sank in a storm after an accident, why is #Russia vowing to attack Kyiv in retaliation?3:32 AM · Apr 16, 2022269043309If the #Moskva sank in a storm after an accident, why is #Russia vowing to attack Kyiv in retaliation?The warship was previously deployed by Moscow in the Syrian conflict, where it supplied Russian forces in the country with naval protection. It is the second major vessel lost by Russia since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.