WASHINGTON — Two Ukrainian Neptune missiles hit Russia’s flagship Moskva within the Black Sea, a senior Defense official mentioned on Friday, offering the primary American affirmation that the sinking of the Russian cruiser was the results of a Ukrainian strike.
Moscow had mentioned the ship sank in stormy seas after an unintentional fireplace triggered an explosion.
The official mentioned that American intelligence assessments say there have been a variety of casualties because the ship was struck however couldn’t present a selected quantity. He mentioned that there have been additionally some Russian sailors who survived and had been seen being picked up by lifeboats.
The ship was struck about 65 nautical miles south of Odesa and moved below her personal energy for a while after the preliminary strikes, earlier than finally sinking on Thursday. As the one Russian cruiser of that class within the Black Sea, Moskva’s sinking is a big blow to Russia’s conflict plans, the official mentioned.
“She had cruise missiles on that ship that are now at the bottom of the Black Sea,” the official mentioned.
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