May 6 (UPI) -- The Defense Department on Friday denied reports that the U.S. military provided critical intelligence that allowed Ukraine to target and sink Russia's prized warship on April 14, marking the biggest blow to Moscow during its invasion of Ukraine.
CNN, NBC News and The New York Times reported that U.S. defense officials confirmed for Ukraine the position of the Moska, Russia's top warship in its Black Sea fleet. Ukraine hit the ship with two Neptune missiles, eventually sinking it. The reports said it was not clear if the United States knew ahead of time that Ukraine would target the Russian warship.
Russia had denied that missiles struck the ship, saying instead that a fire onboard caused ammunition to explode, but admitted that it sank.
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby strongly denied that it provided "battlefield intelligence" to help the Ukrainians.
"We do not provide intelligence on the location of senior military leaders on the battlefield or participate in the targeting decisions of the Ukrainian military" Kirby said, according to The Hill. "The Ukrainians have, quite frankly, a lot more information than we do. This is their country, their territory, and they have capable intelligence collection abilities of their own."
