
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Ukrainian forces – equipped with the newest anti-ship weaponry – sank The Moskva (Moscow), the flagship of the Russian Navy. ; It was such a spectacular event that I was instantly reminded of the sinking of The Bismarck in the early days of World War II. ; Not at the time, however – but from the movie.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The sinking of the Bismarck was such a spectacular event that it was memorialized in a Johnny Horton <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1Ufc2hI4FM">song</a>, books, and movies.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">There are a lot of similarities between the sinking of The Bismarck and the sinking of The Moscow. ; Both were flagships of their respective navies. ; That means that they were not only impressive in their own right – in their advanced technology – but they were the command center for the rest of the fleet. ; They were ships personally commanded by the top admirals. ;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">They were arguably the most modern and most dangerous warships on the high seas – equipped with the most impressive weapons of their day. ; They were meant to attack – not be attacked. ; They were considered as virtually indestructible – unsinkable. ;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The Moscow has been described as having the most advanced anti-aircraft and anti-torpedo defense systems in the world. ; Why they failed is a mystery. ; Its loss was a serious blow to Russia. ; ;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In addition to the military implications, the loss of The Bismarck and The Moscow were psychological and morale blows. ; It was a humiliating event. ; Both ships carried the most prestigious names in their respective fleets. ; Given Vladimir Putin’s puffed-up ego and hyper nationalism, one can only image his reaction when he learned that the Moscow was at the bottom of the Black Sea.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">And as was the case with Hitler and The Bismarck, Putin suffered this humiliating loss at the hands of a military that he expected to crush in a few days. ; It must have been inconceivable that the Ukrainian forces could actually put Putin’s pride into Neptune’s locker so easily. ; It took only two missiles.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Of course, Putin responded in classic propaganda bullstuff. ; It was an accidental fire that sunk The Moscow, not the Ukrainians. ; But like all of Putin’s lies, it just does not hold water (pardon the pun).</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Kicking Russia’s butt in battle is one thing. ; But humiliating Putin in the process is quite another. ; I am not sure which bothers Putin more. ; War is serious business and rarely produces a good laugh. ; But sinking The Moscow has produced one hardy mocking laugh at Putin’s expense.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">So, there ‘tis.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<amp-youtube layout="responsive" width="1080" height="810" data-videoid="M1Ufc2hI4FM" title="Sink The Bismarck - Johnny Horton"><a placeholder href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1Ufc2hI4FM"><img src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/M1Ufc2hI4FM/hqdefault.jpg" layout="fill" object-fit="cover" alt="Sink The Bismarck - Johnny Horton"></a></amp-youtube>
</div></figure>

The sinking of The Moskva
