The Russian navy's Black Sea flagship sank late Thursday after Ukraine claimed it fired missiles at the warship, the Moskva missile cruiser.

The Russian defense ministry said the ship sank during a towing operation, as reported by state news agency Tass. "During the towing of the Moskva cruiser to her final port, the ship lost stability due to hull damage sustained during the fire from ordnance detonation. The ship sank due to the rough seas," the ministry reported.

Russian authorities first stated that the ship had sustained "serious damage" due to onboard fire without mentioning an attack. The workforce of 500 was evacuated, according to the Russian ministry.

Ukraine's military said it shot on the Moskva. "Neptune missiles guarding the Black Sea caused significant damage to the Russian ship," Maksym Marchenko, chief of the Odesa Regional Military Administration, wrote.

During the battle on Snake Island at the start of the Russian invasion, a Ukrainian soldier famously told the Moskva and its crew to "go fuck yourself."

On Friday morning, explosions were reported in Kyiv, Ukrainian parliamentarian Lesia Vasylenko tweeted. The congressman said three explosions were heard in the city, adding that "most likely [Russian President Vladimir] Putin became enraged over the sinking of the Moskva."

In a midnight address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy commended Ukrainians for surviving 50 days of Russian invasion and tribute to "those who have demonstrated that Russian ships can only go... to the bottom."