The Pentagon denied providing “specific targeting information” to Ukraine to sink the Moskva, a Russian guided-missile cruiser that was the flagship of Moscow’s fleet in the Black Sea.
“We did not provide Ukraine with specific targeting information for the Moskva,” said Pentagon press secretary John Kirby in a statement Thursday night.
“We were not involved in the Ukrainians’ decision to strike the ship or in the operation they carried out. We had no prior knowledge of Ukraine’s intent to target the ship.”
Ukraine claimed to have struck the ship with two Neptune anti-ship missiles in mid-April.
The ship then sank as it was being towed back to port for repairs. Russia said the damage to the ship was the result of the detonation of ammunition.
“The Ukrainians have their own intelligence capabilities to track and target Russian naval vessels, as they did in this case,” Kirby added.
