US provided intelligence that helped Ukraine target Russian warship

By Natasha Bertrand and Katie Bo Lillis, CNN

When Ukraine successfully targeted Russia’s prized warship last month with anti-ship cruise missiles, it had some help from the United States.

Ukrainian forces, having spotted the Russian warship in the Black Sea, called their American contacts for confirmation that it was in fact the Moskva, sources familiar with the events told CNN. The US responded that it was, and provided intelligence about its location. It is not clear whether the US knew Ukraine would move to strike the ship, however, and the US was not involved in that decision, the sources said.

The ship sank after it was struck by two Ukrainian cruise missiles on April 14, dealing a huge blow to the Russian military.

The episode, first reported by NBC News, reflects the Biden administration’s increasingly forward-leaning posture when it comes to sharing intelligence with Ukraine, part of a broader policy shift toward helping Ukraine defeat Russia decisively on the battlefield and significantly weaken its military.

This story is breaking and will be updated.

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