The Russian Defence Ministry released a video that claims to show the survivors of the now-sunken Moskva warship. The Kremlin maintains that the crew and captain of the ship are still alive, while they were previously believed to be dead following the Ukrainian missile strike on Moskva.
The video appeared to show the naval chief Admiral Nikolay Yevmenov, 60, addressing naval officers and seamen in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol.
"Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Admiral Nikolay Evmenov and the command of the Black Sea Fleet held a meeting with the crew of the Moskva missile cruiser in Sevastopol," Russian Defence Ministry said in a tweet.
Ukraine Claimed Moskva Crew Members Were Killed
An officer shown in the video resembled 1st rank Captain Anton Kuprin, commander of the Moskva, who was claimed dead by Ukrainians.
Kyiv's two Neptune missiles last week struck Russia's Moskva warship, which has now sunk in the Black Sea.
Ukraine had claimed the entire 510 crew of Moskva and Anton Kuprin, the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, had died.
Moscow has confirmed that the warship sunk following Ukraine's missile strikes but denied that its crew and captain were dead. The officials stressed that the crew and commander were evacuated and returned to their base in Sevastopol.
Video Showed Moskva Crew in Sevastopol
The 26-second clip claims to show the Moskva ship's crew being greeted by the commander of the Russian Navy, Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, during a military parade in Crimea.
The clip could not be immediately verified as multiple pictures had emerged on Friday, showing many people holding a vigil in Sevastopol, where a wreath left by a Russian navy monument bore the message: 'To the Moskva and its crew," according to the Daily Mail.
Reports had emerged there was a nearly eight-hour battle to save the ship from sinking therefore questions have emerged over the credibility of the video.
Nearly 150 Russian men were shown on the Sevastopol parade ground in Kremlin's footage. While it was claimed that there were over 500 people onboard the Moskva warship.
Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov appeared on the TV and stated that the crew of the Moskva cruiser is at the main base, the hero city of Sevastopol. "Officers, midshipmen, contract personnel will continue service in the Navy," said the admiral.
