US provided intelligence that helped Ukraine attack Russian flagship – reports

The United States provided intelligence which helped Ukrainian forces locate and attack the flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet last month, US media has reported.

The Russian guided missile cruiser, the Moskva, which had a crew of over 500 personnel subsequently sank with an unknown number of casualties.

The sinking of the Moskva on April 13th was a major blow to the Kremlin in its war in Ukraine.

NBC news in the United States and subsequently the New York Times and the Washington Post reported on Thursday evening that the US had shared intelligence with the Ukrainians ahead of the attack on the Russian ship.

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NBC news said it had been told by US officials that the attack happened after Ukrainian forces asked the Americans about a ship sailing in the Black Sea south of Odesa.

It said, citing officials, that the US had identified the vessel as the Moskva and helped confirm its location, after which the Ukrainians targeted the ship.

NBC said the officials maintained the US did not know in advance that Ukraine was going to attack the Moskva and was not involved in the decision to strike the ship.

The Moskva sank on April 14th after Ukrainian forces had fired two Neptune missiles at the vessel the previous day. The sinking of the Moskva was the most serious loss incurred by any navy in 40 years.

The New York Times reported on Thursday night that in recent days, United States officials confirmed that targeting data from US intelligence sources was provided to Ukraine in the hours before the Neptune missiles were launched.

It said the officials declined to elaborate on what specific information was passed along to the Ukrainians. It said one official maintained the information went beyond simply a report on the ship’s location in the Black Sea.

Russia has denied Ukrainian missiles played any role in the Moskva's demise, claiming instead that a fire on board the vessel caused a munitions explosion that led to the sinking of the ship.

Independent Russian news outlets based outside the country have reported that about 40 men died and an additional 100 were injured when the warship was damaged and sank.