U.S. intelligence helped Ukrainians sink Russian Moscow in April, according to a senior defense official. The United States shared Moscow’s location in the Black Sea with Ukrainians, but had no role in deciding to strike it, the official said.
The role of the United States in the sinking of “Moscow” follows Thursday’s reports detailing how intelligence provided by the United States helped Ukrainian forces kill Russian generals.
Without giving details, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters Thursday that the United States provides Ukraine with useful intelligence on the battlefield throughout Ukraine while defending itself – but Kirby said the Pentagon does not provide intelligence on the location of senior military personnel. leaders on the battlefield or participation in decisions to direct the Ukrainian military.
“Ukraine combines the information we and other partners provide with the intelligence they gather on the battlefield, and then they make their own decisions and take action,” Kirby said.
On Thursday night, Kirby issued another statement stressing that the United States had not participated and was unaware of Ukraine’s plans to strike at Moscow.
“We did not provide Ukraine with specific information to target Moscow. We were not involved in the decision of the Ukrainians to strike the ship or in the operation they carried out,” Kirby said. “We had no preliminary information about Ukraine’s intention to steer the ship. “Ukrainians have their own intelligence capabilities to track and target Russian naval ships, as they did in this case.”
The Russian missile cruiser Moscow, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, is seen anchored near Mumbai, India in a photo from a May 21, 2003 file. Roy Madhour / Reuters
Ukrainian forces hit Moscow with two Neptune anti-ship missiles. The strike caused a large fire and the sinking of the ship on April 14.
Kirby said in April that the cruiser was about 600 feet long and had a crew of about 500 sailors. The Pentagon said at least some of the crew had evacuated other Russian naval ships, but it was unclear how many Russians had been killed.
The sinking of Moscow was another embarrassment for Russian forces, which have so far shown inability to achieve their goals in the war in Ukraine. More than 70 days after the invasion, Russian progress is still described by the Pentagon as slow, gradual and uneven.
The lack of progress is due in part to strong Ukrainian resistance, aid coming from Western countries such as the United States, and the inclusion of intelligence provided by the United States and its allies.
Ukrainians also have their own intelligence-gathering mechanisms that are proving effective. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Millie, told a congressional committee on Tuesday that the Ukrainian people themselves had a built-in intelligence system.
“The Russians have entered an area that is clearly undesirable to them, and the people have provided a huge amount of intelligence,” Mili said. “In addition, we have opened the pipes, which I will not go into detail here in an open hearing, but there is a significant amount of intelligence flowing to Ukraine from the United States.
Sarah Cook contributed to this report.
More Eleanor Watson
CBS News reporter covering the Pentagon.
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