Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby stated that the US did not send data on the Moskva cruiser to Ukraine, denying reports about Washington's involvement in the attack.
"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. 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," he said.
The Russian Defence Ministry has said the guided missile cruiser Moskva sank on its way to the port of Sevastopol for repairs on 13 April after a fire led to the explosion of ammunition. Washington and Kiev, however, have repeatedly claimed that the ship sank as the result of two Ukrainian anti-ship missiles.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby speaks during a media briefing at the Pentagon. File.
© AP Photo / Alex Brandon
The NYT report said on Thursday, citing two senior US officials, that Ukraine had already had targeting data on the Moskva warship and the United States had only confirmed it was accurate, but other officials told the newspaper that US intelligence was critical to the alleged strike.
One official said the United States helped with more than just confirming the ship's location, according to the report.
One serviceman was killed and 27 other crew members were missing, the Russian Defence Ministry said. The remaining 396 crew members of the Moskva were evacuated to Sevastopol, according to the Defence Ministry.