Russian warship sunken in Ukraine war may have been carrying a piece of the 'true cross,' a treasured Christian relic

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Russian state media reported that the Moskva, a missile cruiser that was the flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet, sank on Thursday after an explosion on board.

A news report from 2020 has given rise to the question of whether the vessel sank with a Christian relic.

The Russian Orthodox Church announced in February 2020 that the relic had been delivered to the then-commander of the Black Sea fleet, Vice Admiral Osipov, and was at the fleet's headquarters in readiness for delivery to the ship.

Tass said that the fragment of wood in question is a piece of the cross on which Christ was crucified. The metal cross is kept in a reliquary and has a fragment embedded in it.

Sergiy Khalyuta, archpriest of the Russian Orthodox Church's Sevastopol District, told Tass that the Moskva had a chapel for sailors to pray in. The fragment was to be transferred at the request of the owner.

Insider was unable to determine when the relic was transferred to the Moskva or if it was on the vessel when it sank. The Russian embassy in London did not respond to the request for comment.

Western officials said that the sinking of the Moskva is a major blow to Russian spirits.

The ship was hit by a long-range missile from land, but Moscow ignored the claims.

The exact details of how the ship sank are not known. Russian officials said on Thursday that a fire on the ship caused an explosion of the weapons on board.

CNN reported that a person familiar with the intelligence said that the US believes the claims of Ukraine.

At the start of the war, the Moskva asked the Ukrainian border guards to leave Zmynyii, or Snake, Island.

The conversation in which the guards told the ship to "go fuck yourself" became a rallying cry for the war effort.