One of the Russian Navy’s most important warships has sunk in the Black Sea, a massive blow to a military struggling against Ukrainian resistance 50 days into Vladimir Putin’s invasion of his neighbor.

Russian state news agency TASS reported Thursday evening that the guided-missile cruiser Moskva had sunk, citing a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defense.

“During the towing of the cruiser Moskva to the port of destination, the ship lost its stability due to hull damage received during a fire from the detonation of ammunition. In the conditions of stormy seas, the ship sank,” the statement said, according to TASS.

Conflicting accounts have emerged about the incident.

Ukraine’s Operational Command South claimed earlier on Thursday that the Moskva had begun to sink after it was hit Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship missiles.

“In the Black Sea operational zone, Neptune anti-ship cruise missiles hit the cruiser Moskva, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet – it received significant damage,” the statement said. “A fire broke out. Other units of the ship’s group tried to help, but a storm and a powerful explosion of ammunition overturned the cruiser and it began to sink.”

Russia said a fire broke out on the guided-missile cruiser, causing munitions aboard to explode, inflicting serious damage to the vessel, and forcing the crew of the warship to be evacuated.

CNN has not been able to independently verify what caused the damage to the ship.

Earlier in the day Russia’s defense ministry had said that the Moskva “remains afloat” and that measures were being taken to tow it to port. The ministry said the crew had been evacuated to other Black Sea Fleet ships in the area.

Two sources familiar with US and Western intelligence told CNN on Thursday that Ukraine’s claim is believed to be credible, although US officials do not yet have definitive proof.

One source familiar with the latest intelligence said that the US believes with “medium confidence” that Ukraine’s version of events is accurate.

Both sources cautioned that the US has not yet made an independent attribution.

“We’re not in a position to officially confirm independently what exactly led to the ship’s now sinking,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Thursday. “But we’re also not in any position to refute the Ukrainian side of this. It’s certainly plausible and possible that they did in fact hit this with a Neptune missile or maybe more.”

Whatever happened to the Moskva, analysts say its loss would strike hard at the heart of the Russian navy as well as national pride, comparable to the US Navy losing a battleship during World War II or an aircraft carrier today.

“Only the loss of a ballistic missile submarine or the Kutznetsov (Russia’s lone aircraft carrier) would inflict a more serious blow to Russian morale and the navy’s reputation with the Russian public,” said Carl Schuster, a retired US Navy captain and former director of operations at the US Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center.

Alessio Patalano, professor of war and strategy at King’s College in London, said losing the warship would be a “massive blow” for Russia.

“Ships operate away from public attention and their activities are rarely the subject of news. But they are large floating pieces of national territory, and when you lose one, a flagship no less, the political and symbolic message – in addition to the military loss – stands out precisely because of it,” he said.

The 611-foot-long (186 meters) Moskva, with a crew of almost 500, is the pride of the Russian naval fleet in the Black Sea. Originally commissioned into the Soviet navy as the Slava in the 1980s, it was renamed Moskva in 1995 and after a refit reentered service in 1998, according to military site Naval-Technology.com.

The Moskva is armed with a range of anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles as well as torpedoes and naval guns and close-in missile defense systems.

All those represent massive amounts of explosive ordnance in its ammunition magazines. Any fire nearing them would have given the crew limited options to deal with the threat, Schuster said.

“When a fire reaches your ammunition magazine(s), you have two choices; 1) flood them or 2) abandon ship,” Schuster said. “Otherwise your crew is onboard to be wiped out by the catastrophic explosion that follows a fire reaching several hundred tons of ordnance.”

Odesa state regional administrator Maxim Marchenko claimed in a post on Telegram that Ukrainian forces had used Neptune cruises missiles to attack the Moskva. If that’s true, the Moskva would potentially be the largest warship ever taken out of action by a missile, Schuster said.

Such an achievement would represent a big advance for Kyiv’s forces.

The Neptune is a Ukrainian weapon, developed domestically based on the Soviet KH-35 cruise missile. It became operational in the Ukrainian forces just last year, according to Ukrainian media reports.

If it was used to attack the Moskva, it would be the first known use of the Neptune during the war, according to a post on the website of the Center for International Maritime Security (CIMSEC) from Lt. Cmdr. Jason Lancaster, a US Navy surface warfare officer.

His post for the CIMSEC on Tuesday said the threat posed by mobile shore-based cruise missiles like the Neptune “changes operational behavior” of an enemy.

Russian “ships will operate in ways to minimize the risk of detection and maximize their chances to defend themselves,” Lancaster wrote. “These behavioral changes limit Russia’s ability to utilize their fleet to their advantage. The added stress of sudden combat increases fatigue and can lead to mistakes.”

According to Patalano, the war professor: “It would appear the Russians have learned that the hard way today.”

In the CIMSEC post, Lancaster notes the British Royal Navy lost several ships to missiles fired by Argentina during the 1982 Falklands War.

During that war, a British submarine sank the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano, a former World War II US Navy ship similar in size to the Moskva.

The Moskva also poses symbolic significance to Ukraine as it was one of the ships involved in the famous exchange at Snake Island in February, according to Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

According to a purported audio exchange in late February, as the Russians approached the Ukrainian garrison on Snake Island, also known as Zmiinyi Island, in the Black Sea, a Russian officer said: “This is a military warship. This is a Russian military warship. I suggest you lay down your weapons and surrender to avoid bloodshed and needless casualties. Otherwise, you will be bombed.”

A Ukrainian soldier responded: “Russian warship, go f*** yourself.”

On Thursday, Ukrainian National Security Advisor Oleksiy Danilov told CNN that the strike on the Moskva was a very important mission for his country’s military and vowed there would be more such dramatic actions.

“It is a very important mission for us. The Moskva was there near the Snake Island and was hit yesterday by two powerful Ukrainian-made missiles,” Danilov said. “(Putin) came to kill our children, our women, our civilians. That is our gift to him. And this is just the beginning. There will be more than one Moskva.”

This is the second large-sized Russian naval vessel to suffer that fate during Moscow’s war with Ukraine.

In late March, Ukraine said a missile strike had destroyed a Russian landing ship at the port of Berdiansk.

Nathan Hodge and Olga Voitovych contributed to this report from Lviv, Ukraine. Vasco Cotovio contributed from Kyiv, Ukraine. Natasha Bertrand, Anna Chernova, Radina Gigova and Jorge Engels also contributed to this report.

Watch: Oscars TV Spot for Pixar’s ‘Lightyear’ Movie with Chris Evans

by Alex Billington
March 28, 2022
Source: YouTube

“Buzz!!” During the Oscars ceremony last night broadcast live on ABC, Disney debuted an extended TV spot for Pixar’s Lightyear, this sort of prequel to the Toy Story movies, focusing entirely on Buzz Lightyear as a spin-off solo movie about the Space Ranger. Chris Evans is voicing the “real” Buzz Lightyear, the astronaut within the Toy Story universe who inspired the action figure. The plot involves Buzz being marooned in an alien planet and having to figure out a way to build a spaceship and get home. But that only seems like the beginning of this story! Along with Evans, the full voice cast includes Keke Palmer, Dale Soules, Taika Waititi, Peter Sohn as Buzz’s robot companion, Sox the cat, plus Uzo Aduba, James Brolin, Mary McDonald-Lewis, Efren Ramirez, and Isiah Whitlock Jr. This is primarily just a recut version of the latest official trailer, with one or two shots added, but most of it we’ve already seen before. Still looks great.

Here’s the Oscars TV spot for Pixar Angus MacLane’s Lightyear movie, direct from YouTube:

You can rewatch the teaser trailer for Pixar’s Lightyear movie here, or the full-length trailer here.

To infinity and… The sci-fi action-adventure presents the definitive origin story of Buzz Lightyear—the hero who inspired the toy—introducing the legendary Space Ranger who would win generations of fans. Lightyear is directed by American animation filmmaker Angus MacLane, co-director on Finding Dory, and director of the shorts Toy Story of Terror and Burn-E, as well as work for years as an animator at the studio. The final screenplay credits have not been confirmed yet. Based on characters created by Pete Docter for the original Toy Story. Produced by Galyn Susman. Made by Pixar Animation Studios. Disney will debut Pixar’s Lightyear in theaters nationwide (yay!) starting on June 17th, 2022 this summer. Ready to watch?

Find more posts: Animation, Pixar, To Watch, Trailer

“The Contractor” represents the third movie that actors Chris Pine and Ben Foster have made together. They starred in “The Finest Hours,” the finest Coast Guard movie ever, and in “Hell or High Water,” the classic modern western that launched “Yellowstone” writer/director Taylor Sheridan’s career.

This time, they’re a pair of ex-Army Rangers who team up on a mission for a private military contractor. Pine is James Harper, who’s separated from the Army after a new commanding officer requires a blood test and he’s busted with all the medication in his system that he needs to keep his body functioning to do the job.

Broke and facing financial ruin, Harper reaches out to his former commanding officer Mike (Foster). Mike introduces James to Rusty (Kiefer Sutherland), a military contractor who promises that his company, unlike its warriors-for-hire competition, will only take on righteous work that aims to promote good in the world. James, desperate for cash, takes Rusty at his word and goes home with a $50,000 check.

Soon, James and Mike are packed off to Berlin to interrogate a scientist (Fares Fares), who’s been described as a bioterrorist, and shut down his lab. The mission goes wrong, but not before the scientist puts doubts in James’ head about whether he’s really the bad guy.

Rusty decides that his latest hire can’t be trusted and sends his men to put James down for good. Since James is played by, you know, Chris Pine, that mission will not go as Rusty planned.

“The Contractor” is yet another movie that’s had its release date screwed up by pandemic theater closings. Originally set for a big holiday release in 2021, it’s now trickling out to a few theaters while simultaneously available to buy or rent on digital home video.

This is the first English-language film from Swedish director Tarik Saleh, who’s also directed episodes of Showtime’s “Ray Donovan” and HBO’s “Westworld.” Saleh and screenwriter J.P. Davis (who also co-wrote Gerard Butler’s upcoming action movie, “The Plane”) aren’t interested in copying the frantic killing sprees that everyone’s been trying to make since they saw “John Wick.”

“The Contractor” is the kind of methodical, slow-burn action picture that could have been made in any decade, starting with the 1970s. Pine has to work through his guilt over taking a private military gig, and he and Foster definitely have some stuff to work out before the movie’s over.

This movie deserved a wide release with a full publicity campaign. If you’re looking for a solid spec-ops thriller, don’t miss it.

Keep Up With the Best in Military Entertainment

Whether you’re looking for news and entertainment, thinking of joining the military or keeping up with military life and benefits, Military.com has you covered. Subscribe to the Military.com newsletter to have military news, updates and resources delivered straight to your inbox.

Show Full Article

Will Smith’s Oscar shenanigans may have cost him delays for his latest movie Emancipation. Smith’s film was set to arrive at the fall festival circuit later this year. However, the Apple movie co-producted by Smith’s company Westbrook Studios is now expecting delays until sometime in 2023.

Will Smith’s ‘Emancipation’ Seeing Delays

Directed by Antoine Fuqua, Emancipation would have been the first release from Smith following his assault on Chris Rock at the 94th Oscars. After the incident, Smith received a 10 year ban from attending the Oscars and other Academy-related events.

Though there was no official release date for Emancipation, the film was likely to be Apple’s next potential awards project after its massive success with CODA. Though Apple has not set an official date, a source close to the situation stated “it’s the unspoken truth” that the action-drama will not see itself on the platform in 2022.

However, the same source also stated that internal discussions between Apple executives and the filmmakers on the possibility of a fall release, but it is highly unlikely. Smith’s Emancipation will most likely see delays until the end of the year.

Even before this year’s Oscars, buzz around Emancipation was already growing. After seeing early footage from the film, an anonymous filmmaker told Variety that “Will’s going to win back-to-back”. This was in reference to his upcoming best actor win for King Richard.

Additional Rumors

While the slap is mostly receiving the blunt of the blame for the release delay, sources are also indicating that Fuqua is still deep in the post-production phase. It is likely the director is simply not ready for a 2022 release date. The film has already seen several delays. This includes moving production from Georgia to Louisiana to protest the state’s voting restriction laws, destruction caused by Hurricane Ida and a pause due to COVID-19 cases in August 2021.

Furthermore, delays could also be the result of Apple’s incredibly stacked line up arriving in the second half of this year. Many of the films Apple is looking to release may seet hemselves marketed for an awards push.

Apple has several undated films in the works, including Martin Scorsese’s The Killers of the Flower Moon, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jesse Plemons. Additionally, Apple has acquired the Sundance Film Festival Audience Award Winner Cha Cha Real Smooth, feating Dakota Johnson. Unlike Scorsese’s work, Cha Cha Real Smooth has a release date of June 17.

Additionally, Rodrigo Garcia’s Raymond and Ray will most likely see a release sometime this year. The film stars Ewan McGregor and Ethan Hawke. Peter Farrelly’s The Greatest Beer Run Ever, his first film since Green Book won best picture, will also find itself on the streaming service later this year.

While Smith’s Emancipation is seeing delays, Apple TV+ is still likely to have an incredible year.