where it is, but the point is, this flag ship vessel, one of the most powerful ships in the russian navy now is no more. it s gone. that sends a very powerful message and is a really strong blow for the russians that have lost a flag ship in the black sea fleet. i was going to ask you about that because it s been described as a tactical victory for ukraine, regardless of how it went down because it s out of commission. it s a symbolic victory for ukraine and embarrassment for russia. how are you finding these symbolic wins and losses are? they re incredibly important. you re right to say it s a tactical win as well because this is a powerful ship launching cruise missiles against targets in ukraine. it was also a platform for air defenses and so enabled russian aircraft to provide cover for them and the skies over ukraine. when i visited the ship, was it
targeted military production facilities, retaliation it said for ukrainial which ukraine denied we always have the threat of russians coming back and trying to seize our capital, but we are well and ready. reporter: and today russian airstrikes pounded the eastern cities of kharkiv and lashank. the attacks came a day after ukrainian forces sank the moskva, russia s flag ship vessel in the black sea. new individeo appears to show the surviving crew meeting with the head of the russian navy russia previously claimed all on board were rescued the renewed assault on kyiv follows a two-week reprieve after russian soldiers mostly withdrew, leaving behind the bodies of at least 900 civilians in the capital region according to ukrainian police today in central kyiv life appeared almost normal people brunched at cafes and families strolled through the
and welcome to way too early. it s friday, april 15th, i m jonathan lemire. a huge setback for russia as its flag ship vessel in the black sea has sunk. russia s defense ministry says it was being towed to port after suffering heavy damages and then it sank in a storm. a day earlier, ukrainian officials said their forces hit the ship with two anti-ship missiles, causing significant damage. moscow denied the claim. instead, saying a fire began on board, that caused ammunition to detonate. the story is not much better for them. u.s. officials say they cannot confirm what caused the explosion on the vessel. the missile cruiser was a symbol of russia s naval power. experts say it is a massive blow to the kremlin and could undermine the country s operations in that region. following the announcement of a new weapons package to ukraine, russia is again warning the united states about its involvement in the war. in a two-page letter obtained by
hit a building plant that was being used to produce anti-air systems. russia says they will continue to target kyiv. the number and scale of missile strikes will increase in response to any terrorist attack or sabotage committed by the kyiv regime on the russia territory. the strikes come after russia s flag ship vessel sank. russia claims a fire caused the ship to sink but the ukrainians said they hit the ship with two neptune missiles. we were in the suburbs of this capitol city again today where war crimes prosecutors are still digging up bodies from mass graves. we also got a better look at the extensive destruction left behind as this city continues to brace for the possibility of more attacks from russian forces.
last few minutes which we will try to get to right now. luckily we have a guest on deck who is actually a really good person to talk to about both of these stories. the first story is breaking news out of the russian war in ukraine tonight. there are reports circulating starting this afternoon and they re increasingly circulating as we get later into the evening that ukraine has hit an important russian navy ship off the coast of odesa. this is the footage that we got of that ship. this is file footage. a cruiser called the muskva, the russian word for moscow and moscow is important, it is the flagship of the russian navy s fleet in the black sea. it s their flag ship vessel. now, the governor of odesa says ukrainian forces hit that ship with two missiles and caused serious damage to it. nbc news has not confirmed ukraine s account. but i need to tell you that russian news agencies have started to report something