Russia's flagship Black Sea missile cruiser has sunk after being "seriously damaged", Russian state media says.
The defence ministry said ammunition on the Moskva exploded in an unexplained fire and that the ship tipped over while being towed back to port.
Ukraine claims it struck the vessel with its Neptune missiles.
The 510-crew warship had led Russia's naval assault on Ukraine, which made it an important symbolic and military target.
Earlier in the conflict the Moskva gained notoriety after calling on Ukrainian border troops defending Snake Island in the Black Sea to surrender - to which they memorably radioed a message of refusal which loosely translates as "go to hell"
Prior to the sinking, Russia's defence ministry issued a statement saying "the vessel is seriously damaged. The entire crew have been evacuated".
On Thursday afternoon, it said a fire onboard had been contained and that it would be towing the warship back to port.
But a statement issued later on Thursday said that, while being towed, the ship "lost its balance due to damage sustained in the hull".
"Given the choppy seas, the vessel sank," it said.
Moscow again blamed the blast on an unexplained fire, making no mention of any missile strike.
But Ukraine says it is responsible for an attack on the cruiser, which it claims it targeted with recently-introduced Ukrainian-made missiles.
In a Facebook post before the ship sank, Ukrainian officials said Russian rescue efforts were being hampered by ammunition exploding on board and bad weather.
Either of the claims have been verified.
Bütün xəbərlər Facebook səhifəmizdə
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