US intelligence played a pivotal role in Ukraine Attack on a leading Russian warship Last month, a US official said Thursday.
The official, who asked not to be identified, said Ukraine targeted and sank the Russian missile cruiser Moskva on April 14 with its anti-ship missiles after the United States provided a “bundle of intelligence” that included the ship’s location in the Black Sea.
The official, in remarks reported by NBC News for the first time, said that the United States was not aware of the Ukrainian attack until after it was completed.
The notable sinking of the Moskva was a blow to the Russian military, which denied that Ukraine had shot down the ship, instead claiming that it sank due to an unprovoked fire and “capricious seas”.
The lead ship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet made news early in the war when Ukrainian border guards defending a small island refused to surrender and He told the ship, “Go by yourself. “
The disclosure of Washington’s role in the attack came as the Biden administration faced an escalation political pressure To intensify efforts to support the Ukrainian army two and a half months after the unprovoked Russian invasion.
At the beginning of the conflict, the White House walked a tightrope to provide support to Kyiv Take big steps not to provoke Moscow in the escalation of the war.
US intelligence news in the Moskva attack combined with the latter Heavy weapons help calls for $33 billion aid package They emphasized how the Pentagon’s strategy has become less cautious of late.
Last Thursday, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby threw cold water on a New York Times report that said Ukraine used US intelligence to kill nearly a dozen Russian generals.
He said US agencies “do not provide intelligence on the locations of senior military commanders on the battlefield or participate in targeting decisions made by the Ukrainian military.”
“Ukraine combines the information we and other partners provide with information they collect themselves and then they make their own decisions and take their own actions.”
with AP . wires
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