Russia’s flagship Moskva sunk: Whom to blame?
Russia’s Black Sea flagship Moskva was sunk after it was hit by two Ukrainian-made Neptune missiles / by Gav Don, bne intellinews
Background.
On 14th of April 2022, Russia’s flagship named Moskva was sunk. The Ukrainian claimed that their Neptune anti-ship missile was the cause of the ship sinking, ”A guided missile cruiser carrying a crew of 510, the Moskva was the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. It sank on April 14 after being struck by two Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship missiles.”, (Ken Dilanian, Courtney Kube, Carol E Lee. U.S. intel helped Ukraine sink Russian flagship Moskva, officials say. NBC NEWS). Said the US official
Russia claimed that the ship was sunk due to a fire, ”Russia has insisted the reason for the sinking was a fire”, (Ivanna Kotashovva. ‘We all realise that we will not be forgiven.’ Ukraine braces for new assault after sinking of Russian flagship. CNN). So Which claim is right?.
Constructivism, the Theory to Supports this Issue
Russia is an autocratic state. This makes all decisions come from the head of state. The head of state of the Russian federation is Vladimir Putin. Due to the autocratic form of government, any governmental decision comes directly from Putin. The 2022 Russo-Ukrainian war is entirely Putin’s decision. This makes Constructivism a right ideology to explain the issue. This is because Constructivism believes that anarchy and war only happen when the leader of the state’s allows it ,”In summary, although constructivists recognise anarchy’s existence in the international system, they argue that the effects of anarchy are dependent upon the inter-subjective meanings we attach to it, constructivists do not appear to subscribe to the view that war is inevitable in the international system but suggest that conflict is overcome by observing and reconstructing identities and interests of state’s leader”, (Miriam dornan. Realist and Constructivist Approaches to Anarchy. E-International Relations).
How this theory correlates with this can be summarized like this. Russia is led by a man named Vladimir Putin who got elected in 2000 and has an ambition to rebuild Russia into a big country as big as the now former Soviet Union. The war is one of Putin’s ambitions. Basically in Constructivism, the leader of the state is important in whether an anarchy or war is starting or not. In this case the war is happening because Russia is led by Putin who wants the war to happen and this surely fits with the constructivist ideology.
Ukraine claimed that their anti-ship missile is the cause of the ship’s sinking.
Ukraine claimed that their anti-ships missile is the cause of the ship’s sinking. This claimed also further emphasised by the US officials ,”A guided missile cruiser carrying a crew of 510, the Moskva was the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. It sank on April 14 after being struck by two Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship missiles, U.S. officials said”, ( Ken Dilanian, Courtney Kube and Carol E. Lee. U.S. intel helped Ukraine sink Russian flagship Moskva, officials say. NBC NEWS).
According to the NBC News, the attack was happened after the Americans intelligence gave a warning to the Ukrainian armed forces that the Moskva flagship was located in the Black Sea and the Ukrainian armed forces decided to struck it down with missiles.
”The attack happened after Ukrainian forces asked the Americans about a ship sailing in the Black Sea south of Odessa, U.S. officials told NBC News. The U.S. identified it as the Moskva, officials said, and helped confirm its location, after which the Ukrainians targeted the ship”, ( Ken Dilanian, Courtney Kube and Carol E. Lee. U.S. intel helped Ukraine sink Russian flagship Moskva, officials say. NBC NEWS).
Russia claimed that the ships sunk due to the Fire, not missile strikes
Cited from the CNN, Moskva ship was sunk after being towed to the port. The cause was due to the fire on the ammunition depot ,”During the towing of the cruiser Moskva to the port of destination, the ship lost its stability due to hull damage received during a fire from the detonation of ammunition. In the conditions of stormy seas, the ship sank,” the statement said, according to TASS”, ( Brad Lendon. A Russian warship sinks in the Black Sea after Ukraine claims it was hit by a missile. CNN).
Russia launched a missile strike to a missile factory in Kyiv as a revenge for the Moskva sinking
Cited from the Moscow Times, Russia launched a kalibr-cruise missile at a missile factory that makes the missiles that Ukranian claimed as the one that was used to sinking the Moskva ship ,”Russian strikes pounded a military factory near Kyiv that makes the missiles Ukraine claims it used to sink the Moskva naval flagship, with Moscow on Friday vowing renewed attacks on the capital. A workshop and an administrative building at the Vizar plant, which lies near Kyiv’s international Zhuliany airport, were seriously damaged in the overnight strikes, an AFP journalist saw. Russia had earlier announced it had used Kalibr sea-based long-range missiles to hit the factory, which Ukraine’s state weapons manufacturer Ukroboronprom says produced Neptune missiles” (Daphne Rousseau. Russia Hits Kyiv Missile Factory After Moskva Flagship Sinks. The Moscow Times). Because Russia is an autocratic state, this decision of launching a counter attack may come from Putin.
Ukraine is to blamed
Ukraine is to blame for the sinking of the Moskva ship. The reason is that Russia launched a missile strike that’s intended to avenge the sinking of the Moskva. If the Moskva was sunk due to fire, as Russia claim then there’s no reason to launch a missile attack to avenge the sinking of the ship. This makes Ukrainian claims make more sense.
Author: Dimas Rasyid Aliansyah
Editor: Sarah Putri Haryadi, Hafsyah Azzahra, Jennifer Clara Aprilia & Viranty Yulia Putri
References
Don, G. (2022, April 18). DON: Russia’s Black Sea flagship Moskva sunk – the anatomy of a missile strike. IntelliNews. https://www.intellinews.com/don-russia-s-black-sea-flagship-moskva-sunk-the-anatomy-of-a-missile-strike-241550/
Dilanian, K., Kube, C. & Lee, C.E. (2022, May 6). U.S. intel helped Ukraine sink Russian flagship Moskva, officials say. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/us-intel-helped-ukraine-sink-russian-flagship-moskva-officials-say-rcna27559
Kottasová, I. (2022, April 16). We all realize that we will not be forgiven.’ Ukraine braces for new assault after sinking of Russian flagship. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2022/04/16/europe/russia-ukraine-war-retaliation-intl/index.html
Lendon, B. (2022, April 14). Russian warship sinks in the Black Sea after Ukraine claims it was hit by a missile. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2022/04/14/europe/russia-navy-cruiser-moskva-fire-abandoned-intl-hnk-ml/index.html
Lisinski, K. (2012). Explaining War: A Comparison of Realism and Constructivism. E-International Relations.
Rousseau, D. (2022, April 15). Russia Hits Kyiv Missile Factory After Moskva Flagship Sinks.The Moscow Times. https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/04/15/russia-hits-kyiv-missile-factory-after-moskva-flagship-sinks-a77360
