They were just the Ukrainian missiles to sink the Russian flagship Moskva in the Black Sea, which was the pride of Putin's Navy and the lead ship of the Russian fleet in a strategic area of the conflict. It is the Americans in the Pentagon who confirm that the setback suffered by the Russian tsar was not the result of a technical accident but the effect of the Ukrainian shooting gallery. The commander of the Russian ship died in the accident, Anton Kurpinand some of the crew. Vladimir Putin is furious, threatens revenge and has already bombed a factory of Ukrainian Neptune missiles on the outskirts of Kiev.
Will the sinking of the Moskva be the casus belli that marks a turning point in the war?
Many now think that the sinking of the Russian flagship could represent the classic casus belli that marks a turning point in the conflict, which has now reached its fifty-first day. Even the Ukrainian president is aware of this Volodymyr Zelensky according to which the Russians could respond to the defeats suffered in recent days (Kiev estimates that 20 Russian soldiers have been killed) using chemical and even nuclear weapons, as several weeks ago he had warned on FIRSTonline the scientific adviser of the IAI, Stefano Silvestri.
Will Russian and Ukrainian war strategies change after the sinking of the Moskva?
Without the cover of the cruiser Moskva it becomes difficult for the Russian fleet to try to conquer Odessa and to open another front of the conflict. Conversely, the Ukrainian military units, which until yesterday were intended to protect Odessa, could now move to other crucial areas, displacing the Russians to the point of leading them to postpone the final battle on the Donbass until the summer. But it is too early to make predictions because first we need to understand how Moscow's response to the blow suffered in the Black Sea will materialize and what shape it will take.
