“Novaya Gazeta Yevropa”: sailors conscripted from the sunken cruiser Moskva will re-enter Ukraine

The sailors’ conscripts rescued from the Russian cruiser Moskva, which was sunk in April, are to be sent to Ukraine again, although many of them are in a bad mental state and no longer want to fight, the independent Russian Novaya Gazeta Yevropa reported.

The parents of the Russian sailors, quoted by “NGJ” on Monday evening, confirmed that the 49 surviving servicemen are currently on the patrol ship Ladnyy – a vessel put into service in 1981 and in need of repair. Relatives of the conscripts have sent appeals to, among others, the military prosecutor’s office in Sevastopol, the Committee of Mothers of Soldiers of Russia and state human rights institutions. The letters stressed that despite earlier promises by commanders, the sailors have still not been ashore.

– Our children, serving on the cruiser Moskva, have already been illegally recruited to participate in a special military operation (a propaganda term for the Russian invasion of Ukraine ). The sailors have suffered psychological trauma related to the shipwreck. We consider it unacceptable to re-engage these individuals in combat operations,” the parents of the conscripts wrote.

The Moskva was the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet and one of Russia’s most important warships. As the Russian defence ministry reported on 14 April, the vessel sank while being towed in storm conditions. Earlier, the Ukrainian army reported that the ship was hit by two Neptune cruise missiles. This version was confirmed by the United States.

According to the Russian side, only one crew member was killed on the cruiser and 27 were considered missing. The actual number of dead is probably much higher. According to Russian opposition figure Ilya Ponomariov, information about the rescue of only 58 of the ship’s 510 personnel has been confirmed.

In late March, more than a month after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Novaya Gazeta received warnings from state media regulator Roskomnadzor and subsequently suspended its paper and online operations until the “operation in Ukraine” was completed. A few weeks earlier, Novaya Gazeta’s editorial team had removed material on the war due to Russia’s restrictive media law. Providing truthful information about the course of the conflict is punishable in this country by up to a dozen years in prison.

On 6 April, the foreign publication of Novaya Gazeta, published under the name Novaya Gazeta Yevropa, was inaugurated in the Latvian capital Riga.

In 2021, Novaya Gazeta’s editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work as a journalist.

source: PortalMorski.pl