[BostonCard]

I saw a calculation that the Moskva represented a quarter of the Russian tonnage in the Black Sea.  So,wow.

I appreciate the discussion here.  I know we are all speculating, but the theories seem at least plausible. The TB2 might have functioned both for distraction and targeting purposes.  Maybe the Russian sailors were concerned about the TB2 precisely because it could have been used to target the ship?  Still, as seems a theme in this war, the Ukrainians have hit on the right combination of ingenuity and chutzpah, combined with Russian incompetence and perhaps a bit of luck to do what few thought possible.  Slava Ukraini!

I imagine that the captain, XO, and virtually all the sailors are dead, despite Russian assertions that they were rescued.  Remember the Kursk? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kursk_submarine_disaster  Russian Naval safety and maintenance  is so bad that Russia’s initial story, that weapons onboard the Moskva spontaneously exploded, was actually plausible.  Given that the Neptune is only rated for ships at 5,000 tons or less, and the Moskva is 19,000 tons, either Ukrainians were sandbagging, really lucky, or Russian naval carelessness made the Moskva more vulnerable than it should have been.

BC

[BostonCard]

I saw a calculation that the Moskva represented a quarter of the Russian tonnage in the Black Sea.  So,wow.

I appreciate the discussion here.  I know we are all speculating, but the theories seem at least plausible. The TB2 might have functioned both for distraction and targeting purposes.  Maybe the Russian sailors were concerned about the TB2 precisely because it could have been used to target the ship?  Still, as seems a theme in this war, the Ukrainians have hit on the right combination of ingenuity and chutzpah, combined with Russian incompetence and perhaps a bit of luck to do what few thought possible.  Slava Ukraini!

I imagine that the captain, XO, and virtually all the sailors are dead, despite Russian assertions that they were rescued.  Remember the Kursk? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kursk_submarine_disaster  Russian Naval safety and maintenance  is so bad that Russia’s initial story, that weapons onboard the Moskva spontaneously exploded, was actually plausible.  Given that the Neptune is only rated for ships at 5,000 tons or less, and the Moskva is 19,000 tons, either Ukrainians were sandbagging, really lucky, or Russian naval carelessness made the Moskva more vulnerable than it should have been.

BC