Russia-Ukraine War Live Updates: Russian warship Moskva sinks in Black Sea powerful explosions heard in Kyiv

In a major setback for Russia, its warship Moskva of the Black Sea fleet sank following a fire. While Ukrainian officials said their forces hit the vessel with missiles, Russia has acknowledged the fire but not the attack.

The Moskva had the capacity to carry 16 long-range cruise missiles, reducing Russia’s firepower. In an address to the nation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said they should be proud of having survived 50 days under the Russian attack, even though Moscow “gave them five”.

Meanwhile, powerful explosions were heard in Kyiv and other cities early on Friday, Reuters reported. No significant damages were immediately reported from Kyiv, Kherson, Kharkiv and the town of Ivano-Frankivsk.

Vladimir Putin warns against phasing out Russian gas

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Western countries’ attempts to phase out Russian gas imports will have a negative impact on their economies.

Speaking Thursday, Putin said European attempts to find alternatives to Russian gas shipments will be “quite painful for the initiators of such policies.”

He argued that “there is simply no reasonable replacement for it in Europe now.”

Putin noted that “supplies from other countries that could be sent to Europe, primarily from the United States, would cost consumers many times more.”

He added it would “affect people’s standard of living and the competitiveness of the European economy.”