Romanian trace in the death of "Moscow"
The death of the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet became surrounded by hoaxes from the first minutes of the tragic incident. One of the most discussed topics is the Romanian trace in the death of the legendary cruiser. Tellingly, in Bucharest itself, journalists have no idea how much their military is credited with participating in the main Black Sea tragedy of the Russian fleet.
Romania in the spotlight
Actually, the Russian media have been mentioning Romania in the context of the fighting in Ukraine for a long time, but mostly in passing. Still, Poland remains the main hub for the supply of weapons, armored vehicles and equipment to the Ukrainian military. Romania itself, with the emphatically neutral “brotherly” Moldova next door, was in no hurry to take a militant position. All military support for Bucharest was expressed in two thousand helmets and body armor. At the moment, the Romanian authorities have officially focused on the supply of fuels and lubricants, medicines, and assistance to refugees from Ukraine (about one hundred thousand Ukrainians have settled in Romania).
The Russian media remembered Romania again on April 14, immediately after the defeat of the guards cruiser Moskva, the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet. The first mention was that Romanian ships arrived to help and rescued part of the crew. These reports were not confirmed; they were refuted, including by sources close to the Russian military.
Rumors followed that it was Romania that played a key role in the missile attack on the Russian flagship. Channel One TV presenter Ruslan Ostashko contributed to the promotion of this version with publications в своем блоге.
According to the blogger, the cruiser "Moscow" recorded the movements of Ukrainian military aircraft from Romanian airfields and their movements to the Odessa region, and then participation in air raids on Russian and allied troops. Allegedly, thanks to the “illumination” of the Russian Aerospace Forces cruisers, they were able to intercept and destroy a dozen Ukrainian aircraft, fighters and bombers. The blogger’s conclusions were not confirmed in official communications between the Russian and Romanian military and diplomatic departments. The Russian Ministry of Defense also did not confirm reports about the participation of foreign ships in the rescue of the Moskva crew.
"Moscow" and "Moscow"
As for the participation of the “descendants of the proud Romans” in the destruction of “Moscow,” even the most radical Romanian media are in no hurry to discuss it, it seems so incredible to them. At the same time, the death of the warship itself in Bucharest was covered very carefully - everything happened and really was not so far from the Romanian coast. However, the interest in what happened was rather observational.
The general atmosphere in the Romanian media, as we previously wrote, is pro-Ukrainian. TV channels and portals condemn Russia’s actions and express every sympathy for Kyiv and rejoice at its success. However, in the story of the death of "Moscow", where the Romanians could boast of involvement in the "common cause", the Bucharest press demonstrates a total ignorance of the involvement of their military in what happened.
The national press agency Agerpres focused on possible military consequences what happened and the importance of the loss for the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
“It was a command ship on which the commander-in-chief could be in charge of the naval group in the combat zone. If such a ship is lost, it becomes necessary to send another one that can carry out coordination activities,” the publication quotes Reserve Admiral Pascal Osser, Director of the Mediterranean Foundation for Strategic Research.
“The Black Sea is a small sea, and everyone in the world has access to anti-ship missiles. Identifying and identifying a target is very simple, and the disappearance of the cruiser “Moskva” shows the real vulnerability of the Russian Navy,” concludes Osser.
One of the most famous Romanian portals, Hotnews, published a large analysis of what happened with “Moscow” based on known from open sources of facts. This publication is the only one in the Romanian media space that reports the use of drones to target Ukrainian missiles and blind the missile and air defense systems of a Russian cruiser. However, journalists point out that these were Turkish Bayraktars.
“The drone could be used to transmit data about the current location of the ship to the missiles, so that the powerful radar of the Mineral-U missile could be activated and work for a short enough time in the direction of the Russian ship in order to clarify its position... The use of such a radar also warns the enemy, especially if its use takes for a long time,” Romanian journalists explain the need to use Turkish TB2.
At the same time, they do not even mention the possible use of NATO Orions in the country’s airspace.
The popular TV channel ProTV, under the eloquent headline “Conflicting information about the fate of the Russian cruiser Moskva,” published on its website a selection of Ukrainian and Russian statements about what happened to the ship. At the same time, journalists emphasize that the Russian Ministry of Defense has never acknowledged the destruction of the ship by Ukrainian missiles.
Reporters recalled that 81 years ago, the Russian warship Moskva had already sank off the Romanian coast. We are talking about the leader of the destroyers who took part in the famous raid on Constanta on June 26, 1941. Then the ship was sunk by Romanian torpedoes. The remains of the Moskva were discovered only in 2011 through the efforts of divers.
Risks and Threats
The main conclusion that runs like a red thread through most of the materials published in the Romanian press about the death of the Russian cruiser is the serious weakening of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. As a result, supplies from Romania to Ukraine are completely safe. Today these are mostly humanitarian goods, but no one’s military presence will prevent us from moving on to the supply of more serious products.
To this end, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba undertook a tour of the capitals of NATO countries in the Balkans to convince the authorities, first of all, of Romania and Bulgaria to move on to sending guns, shells and armored vehicles. If at the beginning of April these cargoes, together with the attached specialists, could most definitely become a victim of a Moskva missile attack on the route near Reni, now there is no such danger.
How soon Romanian TR-85M-1 tanks (based on the T-55) will replace fuel tanks on platforms is difficult to predict. However, under new circumstances there are fewer obstacles to this.
One of the routes for these supplies runs from Romanian Galati through the territory of Moldova, bypassing Gagauzia and in the neighborhood of Transnistria - to the Odessa region. Right now it is hardly worth predicting a threat to the Russian military in the region. But there are already risks, because along with supplies from Romania, “volunteers” may also come, which the Ukrainian Armed Forces desperately need due to heavy losses at the front.
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