The US provided intelligence data that helped the Ukrainian army strike Moskva, the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, NBC, Washington Post and New York Times report, citing unnamed US officials.
According to CNN sources, Washington provided Kyiv with information on the cruiser’s location shortly before a fire was reported on the cruiser. The Ukrainian military spotted a Russian ship in the Black Sea and contacted their US colleagues, who confirmed that it was the Moskva cruiser and provided them with intelligence data regarding its location, CNN reports.
The channel points out that it is unclear whether the US had known about Ukraine’s plans to strike the cruiser. CNN sources state that the US was not involved in the making of this decision.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that the US shares intelligence data regarding the situation in zones of active combat to help Ukraine defend itself, however, the US does not share the location of top Russian army officials, nor is it consulted regarding the targets of Ukrainian strikes.
The US media confirms Ukraine’s version of events: on April 13, two Ukrainian Neptune missiles hit the cruiser, which caught fire and later sank. US officials did not provide the exact number of casualties among the crew, however, they noted that the death toll is high.
On April 13, Ukraine reported that two Neptune missiles had hit the Moskva cruiser. According to the Russian Defence Ministry, the warship was seriously damaged “as a result of detonated ammunition” caused by a fire onboard the ship. On April 14, Russia confirmed that the Moskva cruiser had sunk while being towed during a storm.
On April 22, the Russian Defence Ministry confirmed the death of one crew member of the Moskva, adding that 27 crewmen are missing in action.
Novaya Gazeta. Europe interviewed the mother of a conscript that served on the Moskva cruiser. Her son survived and contacted her the day after the cruiser had sunk. According to the woman, “about 40 people” had died in the sinking of the Moskva, and many were injured. A source in Russia’s Black Sea Fleet told Meduza news outlet that 37 people had died in the sinking of the cruiser, and about 100 were injured.
