US Intelligence helped Ukraine sink Russia's flagship of Black Sea fleet 'Moskva'

Pentagon’s intelligence to the Ukrainian troops helped Kyiv in sinking Russia’s most powerful surface war vessel, the flagship of its Black Sea Fleet, 'Moskva’ on the 71-day of the invasion. Moscow’s symbolic Black Sea cruiser, commissioned during armed conflicts in Georgia and Syria, had sailed out of Sevastopol to attack Ukraine in February. In an extremely hard blow for the Russian forces, the cruiser Moskva ("Moscow" in Russian) sank as a result of what Russia’s Defense Ministry described as "the detonation" of a stock of ammunition caused by a “fire".

Ukraine’s Army, in a conflicting account, claimed that its troops targeted and sank Moscow’s most important and notorious warship by striking it with two Neptune missiles.

Russian cruiser Moskva was widely publicised after an audio clip was retrieved wherein the Russian Navy was heard commanding minuscule Black Sea islet Snake Island's [or Zmiinyi in Ukrainian] entire beleaguered garrison to ‘surrender’ over radio messages. “You are in complete isolation and in effective range of our weapons. In case of resistance, you will be destroyed. Make the right decision, and stay alive. Inform us on channel 16 about your intention to cooperate." Guardsman Roman Hrybov, a former Ukrainian marine famously replied, “Russian warship, go f*** yourself!”

Footages displayed a series of loud explosions, recorded from above, targeted at Moskva escorted by the corvette Vassily Bykov and frigate Admiral Essen via remote aerial technology. Chosen targets were seen completely obliterated as a detachment of the Ukrainian border guards with blue armbands cheered. Snake Island, which is strategically located 20 miles east of the Danube River and 80 miles south of the Ukrainian port of Odessa, was taken by Russian troops on February 24. The islet's control has frequently shifted between Moscow, Istanbul, Bucharest and Kyiv.

Dramatic sinking of ‘Moskva’ would not be possible without Pentagon’s intelligence

While the Pentagon had refrained from giving credence to either version, on Thursday, May 5, at least two United States officials familiar with Putin’s military campaign in Ukraine stated that the dramatic sinking of ‘Moskva’ would not have been possible without Pentagon’s intelligence assistance to Kyiv’s forces. 

In a statement to the NBC news agency on condition of anonymity, the aforementioned officials underscored the crucial role United States' ‘intelligence’ has played in Ukraine’s counter-resistance to Russia’s military aggression. During a presser after the shocking incident, Pentagon’s spokesperson John Kirby had categorically iterated that the disappearance of the Moskva "will have consequences" on Russia’s ability to dominate the Black Sea. As a result of the attack on Moskva, the Russian military had drifted away from other war vessels deployed in the Black Sea from the Ukrainian coast. 

It was speculated, that at the time of the fire onboard, the war vessel Moskva had about 510 Russian naval troops, and not all could evacuate to safety. At first, Russia’s Ministry of Defense had claimed that the entire crew had vacated the ship shortly after the incident and that the fire onboard was "contained" adding that the cruiser "kept its buoyancy." Later on, Moscow’s Defense Ministry claimed that the 13,000 tons and186 meters long “heavily armed” war vessel sank "during the towing to port in rough seas.” It also notified about the casualties. 

“As a result of a fire on April 13, the Moskva missile cruiser was seriously damaged due to the detonation of ammunition,” the ministry said in a statement. “One serviceman was killed, another 27 crew members went missing,” it informed, adding that as many as 396 other crew members were rescued.

"Attempts by the crew to extinguish the fire were not successful,”said Russian MoD.

Russia's ministry of defense stressed that evacuation had commenced ahead of the sinking episode, right after the ammunition blast caused due to “fire” that ripped through the vessel. Russian defense ministry later released footage depicting what they claimed was the Navy head meeting with around 100 Moskva crew members who were deployed on Moskva. The 26-second footage showed Yevmenov and two other Russian Navy officers seen standing in front of around 100 sailors on a parade ground in what appeared to be a ceremony.

Pentagon 'had no prior awareness' about Moskva strike

Despite giving intelligence to Ukraine's military, one of the US officials stressed that Pentagon had “no prior awareness” regarding Ukraine’s decision to strike the Russian warship. He further added that the US shares the intel for maritime awareness to help Ukrainians defend their territory from Russia’s invasion. People familiar with the strike iterated that without US intelligence-sharing, Ukraine would have “struggled” to target the warship.

America’s role, perhaps, has been extremely vital in snubbing Vladimir Putin’s ambitious ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine. 

Moskva was the largest and most powerful Russian warship sunk in combat since World War II and there were “significant” Russian casualties, the officials informed.  The attack preceded Ukrainian enquiry into the Russian warship that was sailing in the Black Sea south of Odesa at the time, the US official told the agency. Pentagon confirmed the ship’s location, “after which the Ukrainians targeted it,” official speaking on condition of anonymity, said. The intelligence was instrumental in carrying out the strike. 

Reports also claimed, citing insider military sources, that the US intelligence helped Ukraine’s Army kill the Russian generals during the war. Pentagon provided sensitive intelligence that included details about the exact Russian troop movement, their location, and information about their military headquarters, that abled the Ukrainian forces to target the Russian military generals by conducting artillery strikes. 

Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, as many as twelve Russian generals have been killed by the Ukraine military “due to the American intelligence,” a wide-ranging report carried by the American newspaper NYT claimed. Just last month, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin had also admitted for the first time that Washington has been actively providing key intelligence to the Ukrainian troops, particularly since Russia’s focus shifted to the eastern Donbass region.

“We are providing them [Ukraine military] intelligence to conduct operations in the Donbass, that's correct,” Austin had said in response to Sen. Tom Cotton’s interrogation during a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee. 

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby had also revealed that the United States had been training Ukrainian soldiers to use 'kamikaze' Switchblade drones to use against the invading Russian soldiers. “We are flowing resources into Ukraine faster than most people would have ever believed conceivable,” Defence Secretary Austin Lloyd admitted at the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told Congress that the Biden administration had lifted restrictions in order to make it possible to share intelligence with Ukraine to help them confront the Russian military’s planned assaults. 

Foreign intelligence won't stop Russia': Peskov 

Reacting to such reports about 'foreign' intelligence, Kremlin asserted that it was "well aware" that the United States, Britain and other NATO countries were constantly feeding intelligence to the Ukrainian military. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov asserted that this "would not stop Russia" from achieving its military objectives and goals during the operation. Russia is doing "everything necessary" to counterintelligence sharing, Peskov told state-affiliated outlets. 

"Our military knows well that the United States, Britain and NATO permanently supply the Ukrainian army with intelligence data and other parameters. This is well-known," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow.

"At the same time, [such actions] are unable to prevent the achievement of the special military operation’s goals."