Ukraine claims it sank Russian warship in Black Sea

Ukraine claims that it has sunk one of Russia's most important warships with a missile in the Black Sea.

Tass, a Russian-state run outlet, reported on Thursday that the Russian Ministry of Defense said the missile cruiser "Moskva" sank in a storm while being towed to shore following damage from an ammunition fire.

Ukraine's military claims that the ship began to sink after it was struck by Ukranian Neptune anti-ship missiles, CNN reported.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said "there was an explosion" on the Russian ship, but the United States cannot verify if it was because of a missile.

"We're not quite exactly sure what happened here. We do assess that there was an explosion, at least one explosion on this cruiser. A fairly major one at that, that has caused extensive damage to the ship," Kirby told CNN.

The Moskva has a crew of almost 500 people and is more than 600 feet long. It originally entered into service for the Soviet Navy in the 1980s.

The vessel is equipped with anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles, among other technology, making the vessel's loss a serious blow to the Russian military.