Pentagon denies providing ‘specific targeting information’ in sinking of Russian warship
Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby late Thursday denied that the U.S. gave the Ukrainian military “specific targeting information” that allowed them to sink the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, Moskva, in April.
“We did not provide Ukraine with specific targeting information for the Moskva. We were not involved in the Ukrainians’ decision to strike the ship or in the operation they carried out,” Kirby said in a statement.
“We had no prior knowledge of Ukraine’s intent to target the ship. The Ukrainians have their own intelligence capabilities to track and target Russian naval vessels, as they did in this case.”
The comment from Kirby came after officials told NBC News and The New York Times that intelligence given from the U.S. to Ukraine helped sink the ship.
The reporting, however, said that the officials said the U.S. was not aware Ukraine’s military would attack Moskva and was not consulted before the decision occurred.
In a press briefing Thursday, Kirby said Ukraine uses a range of intelligence to make decisions on the battlefield.
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JUST IN: Pentagon denies providing "specific targeting information" in sinking of Russian warship https://t.co/EsLADJUehf pic.twitter.com/LsziBC6WP6
— The Hill (@thehill) May 6, 2022
"We do not provide intelligence on the location of senior military leaders on the battlefield or participate in the targeting decisions…The Ukrainians have, quite frankly, a lot more information than we do." From today's brief by @PentagonPresSec https://t.co/oPFLMGPDdn
— Mick Ryan, AM (@WarintheFuture) May 6, 2022
After two months of nearly flawless handling of intel, suddenly there are people in the Biden administration who can't shut their yaps. https://t.co/oN9XOXjta3
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) May 6, 2022
Hey, Biden administration guys? The Russians wondering what the hell keeps happening to them is more strategically valuable than you blabbing to the New York Times about what keeps happening to them.
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) May 6, 2022
If you’re seeing stories about US intelligence helping Ukraine kill generals and sink a ship and thinking the sources should cut it out, well, so does at least one European officialhttps://t.co/h6qEYL7r2J
— Dave Lawler (@DavidLawler10) May 6, 2022
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