White House Denies Reports U.S. Intel Helped Sink Russian Ships

Reports that U.S. intelligence helped Ukraine kill Russian generals and sink Russian ships are inaccurate, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday.

Psaki’s comments came aboard Air Force One as President Joe Biden travels to Ohio for a speech touting the Bipartisan Innovation Act. A reporter asked about the claims and whether the news could escalate tensions between the United States and Russia, but the press secretary denied their validity.

“Let me first say, to speak to the reports, they’re inaccurate,” Psaki said. “We did not provide Ukraine with specific targeting information for the Moskva. We were not involved in the Ukrainians’ decision to strike the ship.”

Ukrainians have their own intelligence capabilities to track Russian vessels, Psaki added, and boast a greater level of intelligence and access to intelligence in the region than does the U.S.

The Pentagon has separately
denied reports
that U.S. intelligence played a key role in Ukraine’s killing of Russian generals.

“We do not provide intelligence on the location of senior military leaders on the battlefield or participate in the targeting decisions of the Ukrainian military,” John Kirby told reporters on Thursday, though he added the Defense Department is providing intelligence to the Ukrainians.

Kirby’s denial came a day after the New York Times
reported
that
intelligence
the U.S. has provided to Ukraine has led to the killing of as many as 12 Russian generals. The number of generals killed was attributed to unnamed Ukrainian officials.

In the case of the Russian flagship Moskva, the U.S. identified the vessel and provided its location after Ukrainian officials inquired about a ship sailing in the Black Sea in mid-April, U.S. officials
told
NBC News. Ukrainian forces then hit the ship with two Neptune missiles, and it sank the next day, April 14.

Like the White House, the Pentagon also denied aspects of that report, saying the Biden administration did not know in advance that Ukrainian forces were going to target the ship and insisted it was not involved in the decision to launch the attack.

The Moskva is the largest Russian warship to be sunk in combat since World War II.

Psaki did not deny that the U.S. is providing some intelligence to Ukraine.

“We do provide a range of intelligence to help them understand the threat posed by Russian ships in the Black Sea and to help them prepare to defend themselves against potential sea-based assaults,” she said. “But they take our intelligence, and they combine that with what they have access to. In this specific report, it’s just not an accurate depiction of how this happened.”

You can watch Psaki’s entire briefing below.

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases