MOSCOW - Russia on Thursday said the flagship of its Black Sea Fleet, the Moskva missile cruiser, sank in stormy seas when it was being tugged to a port after having been damaged in a blast.

Due to the damage to the hull caused by explosions of ammunition onboard, Moskva lost stability, the Russian Defense Ministry said, adding that its crew members had been evacuated to other ships.

Moskva was "seriously damaged" by the detonation of ammunition onboard as a result of a fire, but it remained afloat after there were no open flames, the ministry said earlier in the day.

Maksim Marchenko, the governor of Ukraine's Odessa region, said on Telegram on Wednesday that Ukraine's border guards on Snake Island used Neptune anti-ship cruise missiles to deliver "very serious damage" to cruiser Moskva.