Axios reports, “Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed Wednesday that its Moskva missile cruiser was badly damaged in a fire — hours after Ukrainian forces claimed they’d struck the vessel in the Black Sea. … Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a brief statement that ‘ammunition detonated as a result of a fire on the Moskva missile cruiser.’”
I don’t know why I keep overestimating Russia’s military capabilities, perhaps out of an abundance of caution. But this recent story suggests Russia likes to present itself with the hard choice of claiming incompetence or incompetence. Either they’re incompetent to defend the flagship against Ukraine’s military or they’re incompetent to operate the flagship. Apparently, they would rather assert that not only is their army filled with and run by a bunch of stooges, but their navy is just as inept. I’m not sure how sailors set fire to their own ship, but I guess if there is a way, then Russia will find it and do it. Christ! This is the country with the military the West fears? Now is the time to crush Putin’s military while they are still learning to tie their (velcro) shoes. You couldn’t make this sh*t up if you were writing a fictional (comedic) novel.