U.S. intel helps Ukraine sink Russian flagship Moskva

• Ukrainians were reportedly able to sink the Russian warship Moskva thanks to U.S. intelligence reports on its location.
• Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that the U.S. has been providing Ukraine with helpful battlefield intelligence, but leaving targeting decisions to the Ukrainian military.
• Kirby clarified that Ukraine makes its own decisions based on all collected information.

The Ukrainians sunk the Russian ship Moskva with help from U.S. intelligence, reports claimed.

According to a senior defense official, the U.S. did inform Ukraine of the location of the Moskva in the Black Sea, but had no role in the decision to strike it.

The information came after reports on Thursday claimed that U.S. intelligence helped Ukrainian forces kill Russian generals.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters that while the U.S. has indeed been providing Ukraine useful battlefield intelligence, the Pentagon does not provide intelligence reports on the location of senior military leaders nor participate in targeting decisions.

Kirbly clarified that while Ukraine receives intelligence reports from the U.S. and other allies, Ukraine makes “their own decisions and take their own actions” based on the combined information.

Ukrainian forces were able to strike Moskva with two Neptune anti-ship missiles, causing a large fire that eventually led to the ship’s sinking on April 14.

At the time, Kirby said that the nearly 600-foot-long cruiser had a crew of roughly 500 sailors. While some of the crew managed to evacuate to other Russian naval ships, the number of Russian casualties is unclear.

Moskva’s sinking was seen as another failure for the Russian forces, who have been unable to reach their goals in the war in Ukraine. According to the Pentagon, Russian progress has been slow, incremental, and uneven after over 70 days into the invasion.

Ukrainian resistance proved to be strong. The country has also been receiving aid from Western allies.

Apart from intelligence reports from its Western allies, Ukraine also has its own intelligence collection mechanism, which has proven to be effective. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley praised the Ukrainians for being their own built-in intelligence system during a meeting with a congressional committee on Tuesday.

Milley stated, “The Russians have walked into an area that is clearly unwelcome to them, and the people have provided a massive amount of intelligence. Plus we have opened up the pipes which I’m not going to go into detail here in an open hearing, but there’s a significant amount of intelligence flowing to Ukraine from the United States.”

Source: CBS News