Russia-Ukraine War

US Intel Helped Ukraine Sink Russian Flagship Moskva, Officials Say

The Moskva was the largest Russian warship sunk in combat since World War II

The Russian missile cruiser Moskva seen anchored in the Black Sea port of Sevastopol, Ukraine, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008. The cruiser Moskva and two smaller missile boats were deployed to Georgia's shores during the war in August. Ukraine has responded to the war in Georgia by demanding that Russia notifies it in advance of the Black Sea Fleet ships movement.
AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov

Intelligence shared by the U.S. helped Ukraine sink the Russian cruiser Moskva, U.S. officials told NBC News, confirming an American role in perhaps the most embarrassing blow to Vladimir Putin’s troubled invasion of Ukraine.

A guided missile cruiser carrying a crew of 510, the Moskva was the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. It sank on April 14 after being struck by two Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship missiles, U.S. officials said. Moscow said the vessel sank after a fire. 

The Moskva was the largest Russian warship sunk in combat since World War II. American officials said there were significant Russian casualties, but they don’t know how many.

President Biden said his request for an additional $33 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine reflects the importance of the mission. What else does it tell us about what’s ahead? NBCLX storyteller Clark Fouraker talked to Arik Burakovsky of Tufts University's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy to put the request in perspective.

For more on this story, go to NBC News.

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