The Pentagon on Friday denied reports that it helped Ukrainian forces sink the Russian warship Moskva in the Black Sea last month in a stunning setback for Moscow’s invasion.
“We did not provide Ukraine with specific targeting information for the Moskva,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.
Kirby said the US had “no prior knowledge” of the plan to strike the ship, which sank April 13, leaving a still-unclear number of Russian sailors dead or missing.
“We were not involved in the Ukrainians’ decision to strike the ship or in the operation they carried out,” Kirby said.
“The Ukrainians have their own intelligence capabilities to track and target Russian naval vessels, as they did in this case,” he said.
US media have reported in recent days that the United States has helped Ukraine identify and target the Moskva as well as Russian generals while they are in the field.
SOURCE: AFP
