Russian mystery as 'dead' captain of sunk flagship Moskva talks to 'survivors' at parade
dailystar.co.ukRussia's warship Moskva has been shown alive in strange footage released by Moscow of a "survivor's parade".Ukraine announced the death of 1st rank Captain Anton Kuprin after its sinking of Moskva, and a news blackout from Russia led to speculation that hundreds more sailors had perished.
In a strange twist, Russia then shows an officer who is the spitting image of Kuprin listening to a speech by naval chief Admiral Nikolay Yevmenov.Kuprin was the commander who ordered the killing of the small band of Ukrainian soldiers on Snake Island – who famously retorted "go f*** yourselves Russian warship".It was unclear when the footage was recorded and a report by TASS, Russia's leading news agency, did not say when the meeting took place, or even mention that the Moskva had been sunk.Ukraine claimed Kuprin was killed in the sinking of the battleship, caused by a Neptune missile strike.There were reports of an eight-hour battle to save the Moskva from sinking.Yet the footage left many questions unanswered.There were around 150 men visible in the sunshine on the Sevastopol parade ground in the Defence Ministry footage, whereas the crew of the stricken warship had numbered more than 500.It was not made clear why so many were missing.The men were lined up in a way to give the impression of a large number present on the parade ground, but hundreds were missing.There were no references to any fatalities but at a vigil yesterday in the city, there were prayers for the lost sailors.The admiral was shown on TV saying: "The crew of Moskva cruiser is at the main base, hero city of Sevastopol."Officers, midshipmen, contract personnel will continue service in the Navy."Conscript sailors on the Moskva would be relieved of their duties in the.
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