Moscow, Apr 15 (AP) The Russian military sustained a major blow when the flagship of the country's Black Sea fleet was badly damaged and its crew evacuated.

Ukrainian officials say their forces hit the vessel with missiles, while Russia acknowledged a fire aboard the Moskva but no attack.

Also Read | Russia Claims Ukrainian Helicopters Carried Out Strikes On Its Territory.

The warship was 60 to 65 nautical miles south of Odesa when the fire ignited Thursday, and the vessel was still battling flames hours later while heading east, according to a Pentagon official.

The loss of the ship would be a major military setback and a devastating symbolic defeat for Moscow as its troops regroup for a renewed offensive in eastern Ukraine after retreating from much of the north, including the capital.

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OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:

LVIV, Ukraine -- Russia's Defense Ministry says the fire at the Moskva cruiser, the flagship of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, has been contained. It says the vessel remains afloat and will be towed to the port.

The ministry said in a statement Thursday that there is no open fire at the ship anymore and explosions of the ammunitions have ceased. “The main missile weapons were not damaged,” the statement read.

Ukrainian officials claimed however that the ship has sunk, saying it's a “resounding slap in the face” to Moscow's forces. The conflicting accounts couldn't be immediately reconciled.

Oleksiy Arestovych, adviser to Ukrainian president's office, said in a Facebook post that 510 crew were onboard the Moskva cruiser as it sank in the Black Sea, following serious damage from a Ukrainian missile strike.

Military analyst Oleg Zhdanov said the damaging of the Moskva significantly raises the morale of Ukrainian forces on the eve of a new wave of Russian offensive in the Donbas.

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NEW YORK — A Russian legislator and two aides were charged with conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions as they pushed a covert Russian propaganda campaign in the U.S. to win support for moves against Ukraine and other countries, an indictment unsealed Thursday said.

Three conspiracy charges were brought in an indictment in Manhattan federal court against the legislator, Aleksandr Babakov, 59, and two of his staff members — Aleksandr Nikolayevich Vorobev, 52, and Mikhail Alekseyevich Plisyuk, 58.

All three men named are based in Russia and remain at large, authorities said. Babakov currently serves as deputy chairman of the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian legislature, federal authorities said in a release.

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Russian authorities have accused Ukrainian forces of launching air strikes on the Russian region of Bryansk which borders with Ukraine, the latest in a series of allegations of cross-border attacks by Kyiv on Russian territory.

Russia's Investigative Committee alleged that two Ukrainian military helicopters entered Russia's air space Thursday and, “moving at low altitude, acting deliberately, they carried out at least six air strikes on residential buildings in the village of Klimovo,” about 11 kilometers away from the Russian border.

It said at least six houses in the village were damaged and seven people, including a toddler, sustained injuries. The Investigative Committee has launched a probe into the attack.

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PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron declined to use the term “genocide” to describe Russia's Ukraine war, arguing against an “escalation of words.”

Asked about the use of the term by U.S. President Joe Biden, Macron said “the word genocide must be spelled out by jurists, not by politicians.”

Speaking on French radio France Bleu, Macron said he spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday and will speak again with him later that day. He said he will do “everything to end this war and stay by the Ukrainians' side.

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GENEVA — The international Red Cross says it's rolling out its largest-ever cash assistance program to help more than 2 million people in Ukraine or who have fled abroad cope with the fallout from Russia's invasion.

Nicole Robicheau, spokeswoman of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said Thursday the organization plans to distribute “well over 100 million” Swiss francs — about $106 million –- to people affected by Russia's seven-week-old war in Ukraine.

Humanitarian groups like the IFRC have recently touted the effectiveness of cash assistance programs for people in places hit by events like natural disasters, drought, famine and conflict, as a way to “allow people to decide what they need” and “put money back into the local economy,” Robicheau said by phone.

The program aims to help some 360,000 people inside Ukraine and many more in countries of refuge.

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LONDON — Ireland's foreign minister is in Kyiv, the latest in a string of senior European politicians to make the trip to show support for Ukraine's fight against Russian invasion.

The Irish government says Simon Coveney, who is also defense minister, is meeting Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov.

Ireland has sent Ukraine 20 million euros ($22 million) in humanitarian aid and 33 million euros ($36 million) in non-lethal military assistance.

It is also a strong backer of Ukraine's bid to join the European Union, and the government said Coveney would discuss how Ireland can “assist Ukraine in its application for EU candidate status.” (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)