Moskva Sinking

About

The Moskva Sinking refers to a Russian warship and guided-missile cruiser named Moskva that sunk in the Black Sea due to an alleged attack from Ukrainian forces in April 2022 amid the 2021-2022 Russia-Ukraine Crisis. The Russian military denied the attack, stating that the ship instead sunk because of a fire on board. The event caused controversy and discussion online regarding the ongoing conflict and war.

History

On April 14th, 2022, the Ukrainian military claimed it had hit the Russian guided-missile cruiser Moskva, causing it to sink into the Black Sea.^[1] In contrast, the Russian government and military denied the allegation, stating that Moskva had sunk because of a fire on board.^[1] On the 15th, the United States government supported Ukraine's account over Russia's. Overall, the ship was carrying mass amounts of Russian anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles and was, according to CNN,^[1] "the biggest wartime loss of a naval ship in 40 years."

On the 14th, the YouTube^[2] channel for BBC News was the first to report on it, reiterating that the Russians stated Moskva had 500 Russian soldiers on board with all of them being evacuated due to a fire. The Ukrainians instead claimed they'd hit it with two Neptune missiles, sinking it. The video received roughly 1.4 million views in 24 hours (shown below).

Developments

Snake Island Captain Anton Kuprin Dies

On April 15th, 2022, it was tweeted by the verified Twitter^[6] account nexta_tv that the Russian Captain who gave the order to bombard Snake Island, Captain Anton Kuprin, had died in the explosion of Moskva. According to nexta_tv, this was reported by the adviser to Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Anton Gerashchenko. Their tweet received roughly 14,300 likes in less than a day (shown below). A screenshot of the tweet was also shared to /r/JusticeServed^[7] on the same day where it earned roughly 14,200 upvotes in the same amount of time.

Reactions

Many internet users labeled the attack as an immense success for the Ukrainian Navy if confirmed. For instance, on April 14th, Twitter^[3] user ChrisO_wiki claimed in a tweet that, "if confirmed, it's likely to go down in history as one of the most audaciously successful attacks in modern naval history," earning roughly 39,800 likes in one day (shown below).

Moskva memes started to appear about the sinkage starting on the 14th. For instance, on the 14th, Redditor atlasova posted an image to /r/MapPorn ^[4] that asked its viewer, "Are you closer to the Titanic or the Moskva?" earning roughly 13,400 upvotes in less than 24 hours (shown below, left). Twitter^[5] user FPWellman also posted a Moskva meme on the 14th, captioning a photoshopped image of a tractor pulling the Moskva, in reference to the Ukrainian Farmers vs. Russian Army memes, with, "Last picture of the Moskva." The tweet received roughly 89,900 likes in one day (shown below, right).

Various Memes

Search Interest

External References