Images have been shared online of the Russian warship. Photo by Shutterstock.
Photos shared online appear to show the Russian warship Moskva before it sank last week.
Flames and large plumes of smoke can be seen billowing from the ship in the series of images.
They were reportedly taken on April 14, which is the day after Ukraine claimed to have struck the warship.
Ukrainian officials have said they hit it with missiles.
However, Russia said a fire was caused due to ammunitions exploding onboard while the ship was being towed in a storm.
The images appear consistent with Ukrainian claims that it was struck with two missiles on its port side before it rolled and sank, and seem to contradict Russian accounts that the vessel went down in rough seas. Photo by Shutterstock (12898948b)
A senior US defence official backed up the claim from Ukraine, saying the US now believes the Moskva was hit by at least one Neptune missile.
The flagship of the country’s Black Sea fleet was “badly damaged” and the crew was evacuated.
The warship, which was named after the Russian capital, was 60 to 65 nautical miles south of Odesa when the fire started.
According to a Pentagon official, the vessel was still battling the flames several hours later.
