Ukrainian defense minister quips sunken Russian warship ‘a worthy diving site’

The defense minister of Ukraine quipped on Friday that a Russian warship that caught fire and sank after being hit with missiles by Ukrainian forces is a “worthy diving site.”

“A ‘flagship’ russian warship is a worthy diving site. We have one more diving spot in the Black Sea now. Will definitely visit the wreck after our victory in the war. BTW, I already have 300 scuba dives,” Ukrainian defense minister Oleksii Reznikov tweeted.

Reznikov also tweeted out a photo of him scuba diving in the sea, clearly bragging about a successful effort by Ukrainian forces to hit the Moskva, the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet.

At the start of the invasion, the Moskva told Ukrainian troops on Snake Island to surrender, only to be told to “f—” itself. The moment was widely shared as a rallying cry and sign of Ukrainian resistance.

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry also taunted Russia over its sunken warship on Friday, referencing that incident.

“Ukrainian karma: Feb. 24: The birth of the ‘russian warship, go f— yourself’ phrase Apr. 13: President @ZelenskyyUa shows the new postage stamp featuring the phrase,” the defense ministry tweeted. “Apr. 14: The warship Moskva addressed in the phrase sinks.”

The development comes shortly after the Pentagon on Friday confirmed to The Hill that two Ukrainian Neptune missiles had hit the Moskva, which caught on fire and later sank. The Pentagon was confirming Ukraine’s initial claims that it had successfully hit the warship.

Meanwhile, Russia announced earlier on Friday that it had attacked a missile plant on Kyiv’s outskirts, which its defense ministry claimed made “long- and medium-range anti-aircraft missile systems as well as anti-ship missiles.”

Russia also vowed that it would ramp up its attacks against Kyiv if Ukraine waged more attacks on Russian territory.

“The number and scale of missile strikes against assets in Kiev will increase in response to any terrorist attacks or sabotage on Russian territory by Kiev nationalist regime,” the Russian defense ministry said.