‘We all realize that we will not be forgiven.’ Ukraine braces for new assault after sinking of Russian flagship

The war in Ukraine could soon enter a new, even more dangerous phase.

Russia, angry over the loss of its Black Sea Fleet flagship, has warned of “unpredictable consequences” if the US continues supplying weapons to Ukraine, while Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky struck a somber note telling CNN the world should be prepared for the possibility that Russian President Vladimir Putin could use tactical nuclear weapons.

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See reaction on Russian state TV after major ship sunk

02:21 - Source: CNN

The sinking of the guided-missile cruiser Moskva on Thursday is the biggest wartime loss of a naval ship in 40 years – and a huge embarrassment for Russia.

It comes at a time when US intelligence officials are warning about Putin’s increasingly unpredictable behavior and willingness to take risks due to his anger over Russia’s failures in Ukraine.

While Moscow has denied the Ukrainian version of events – that the Moskva sunk after being struck by Ukrainian missiles – it was nevertheless forced to admit the ship went down.

A picture taken on September 10, 2008, shows the Moskva, missile cruiser flagship of Russian Black Sea Fleet, entering Sevastopol bay. Russia "over the next few days" will be sending the Moskva missile cruiser to the Mediterranean as the West prepares for possible strikes against Syria, the Interfax news agency said on today. AFP PHOTO/VASILY BATANOV (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Moskva sinking: What really happened to the pride of Russia's fleet?

Russia has insisted the reason for the sinking was a fire, but the US on Friday confirmed Ukraine’s account, with a senior defense official saying that the US believes that two Ukrainian Neptune missiles hit the Russian warship.

As the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, the Moskva was one of its most visible assets in the Ukraine war and its loss could impact the morale of Russian troops. Tellingly, the Russian government has not acknowledged casualties in the sinking of the ship, a marked contrast to the very public discussion about the Kursk submarine disaster, which claimed the lives of 118 sailors in 2000.

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CNN visited the Moskva in 2015. This is what it looked like on board

02:18 - Source: CNN

Russia may have extinguished independent media, but the loss of the Moskva has likely made Putin even more furious about the situation in Ukraine. US officials believe Putin is angry over the failures of his troops in Ukraine. They believe Putin’s advisers have not been telling him the full truth and did not prepare him for potential setbacks.

The warship fiasco comes just weeks after top Russian military officials announced a shift in the focus of the invasion after their offensive appeared to have stalled around major Ukrainian cities such as Kyiv and Kharkiv. Russia has also failed to achieve complete air superiority in Ukraine and has suffered heavy losses of personnel since the start of the invasion.

Cars burn after a Russian military strike in central Kyiv, Ukraine, on October 10. At least 19 people were killed and more than 100 injured in Russian missile strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities on Monday as Moscow targeted critical energy infrastructure.

A fireman helps an injured civilian after several explosions hit the Shevchenkivskyi district of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on October 10.

Firefighters conduct work on a damaged building after a Russian missile attack in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on October 10.

A huge blast severely damaged the only bridge connecting annexed Crimea to the Russian mainland on October 8. At least three people were killed in the explosion, which caused parts of Europe's longest bridge to collapse, according to Russian officials.

Ukrainian soldiers ride on an armored vehicle near the recently retaken town of Lyman in Donetsk region on October 6, as the Ukrainian military continues to advance into several of the areas Russia now claims as its own.

Ukrainian firefighters attend to the site of a missile strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on October 6.

Ukrainian soldiers prepare to fire a BM-21 'Grad' multiple rocket launcher towards Russian positions in the Kharkiv region on October 4.

Ukrainian servicemen carry a body bag at the site of a missile strike on a convoy of civilian cars that killed at least 30 people near Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on September 30.

Head of the separatist self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) Denis Pushilin, left, and Secretary of the United Russia Party's General Council Andrey Turchak attend a news conference on preliminary results of a referendum on the joining of the DPR to Russia, in Donetsk, Ukraine, on September 27.

Anton Krasyvyi rows passengers across the Siverskyi-Donets river in front of a destroyed bridge, so they can visit relatives in Staryi-Saltiv, Ukraine, on September 27.

People wait for food aid distributed by the local branch of Caritas Internationalis, a Catholic charity organisation, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on September 27.

A man glues a referendum poster reading "Yes" in Berdyansk, Ukraine, on September 26. Russia is attempting to annex up to 18% of Ukrainian territory, with President Vladimir Putin expected to host a ceremony in the Kremlin to declare four occupied Ukrainian territories part of Russia.

Forensic technicians operate at the site of a mass grave in a forest on the outskirts of Izyum, eastern Ukraine on September 18. Ukrainian authorities discovered hundreds of graves outside the formerly Russian-occupied city.

Ukrainian State Emergency Service firefighters put out a fire after a Russian rocket attack hit an electric power station in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on September 11.

Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, speaks to the press at his hotel before leaving to inspect the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on September 1.

Graves of fallen soldiers in Lychakiv Cemetery, Lviv, as Ukrainians celebrate Independence Day, and mark the six month anniversary of the Russian invasion, on August 24.

Rockets launched from the Belgorod region in Russia are seen at dawn in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on August 15.

Valentyna Kondratieva, 75, left, is comforted by a neighbor as they stand outside her damaged home, in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, on August 13, after a rocket attack.

The bulk carrier NAVI STAR, transporting a cargo of corn, is seen leaving port of Odesa, Ukraine, on August 5.

A young girl holds her dog as an evacuation train departs from Pokrovsk, eastern Ukraine, on August 2.

Ukrainian State Emergency Service firefighters attend to a fire at an oil depot in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, on August 2.

A firefighter extinguishes a burning hospital building hit by a Russian missile strike in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, on August 1.

Russian tanks near the settlement of Olenivka in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, on July 29.

Students at a military school write letters to Ukrainian servicemen during a lesson in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 27.

Firefighters rest as their colleagues remove debris during the search for bodies at the Central House of Culture, in Chuhuiv, Ukraine, after an air strike on July 25.

A man holds the hand of his 13 year-old son, killed by a Russian military strike, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on July 20.

Ukrainian service members fire a shell from a towed howitzer FH-70 at the front line in the Donbas region, Ukraine, on July 18.

Firefighters and members of a rescue team clear the scene after a building was shelled in Chasiv Yar, eastern Ukraine, on July 10. At least 29 people have been confirmed dead.

Local residents look on as smoke rises after shelling in Donetsk, Ukraine, on July 7.

A wounded woman is transported to an ambulance in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, on July 7.

A farmer drives a combine harvester past a crater suspected to be caused by an air strike near Kramatorsk, Ukraine, on July 7.

A Ukrainian soldier with the 14th Mechanized Brigade of Prince Roman the Great works in his tank as the unit awaits their next mission on July 1.

An aerial view of rescue workers after a missile attack in the Serhiivka district of Odesa, Ukraine, on July 1.

People attend a funeral ceremony for Ukrainian serviceman Volodymyr Kochetov, 46, in the village of Babyntsi, Ukraine, on June 30.

Firefighters clear rubble at the Amstor shopping mall in Kremenchuk, Poltava Oblast, Ukraine, on June 28.

Ukrainian State Emergency Service firefighters work to take away debris at a shopping mall after a rocket attack in Kremenchuk, Ukraine, on June 28.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky attends a working session of G7 leaders via video link from his office in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Monday June 27.

An apartment building in the Shevchenkivskiy district of Kyiv, Ukraine, is damaged during a Russian airstrike, on June 26. Several explosions rocked the west of the Ukrainian capital in the early hours of Sunday morning, with at least two residential buildings struck, according to Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko.