Russia’s Black Sea flagship was hit by 2 Ukrainian missiles, a U.S. official says.

WASHINGTON — Two Ukrainian Neptune missiles hit Russia’s flagship Moskva within the Black Sea, a senior Protection 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 brought on an explosion.

The official mentioned that American intelligence assessments say there have been plenty 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 have been seen being picked up by lifeboats.

The ship was struck about 65 nautical miles south of Odesa and moved beneath her personal energy for a while after the preliminary strikes, earlier than ultimately sinking on Thursday. As the one Russian cruiser of that class within the Black Sea, Moskva’s sinking is a major blow to Russia’s battle plans, the official mentioned.

“She had cruise missiles on that ship that at the moment are on the backside of the Black Sea,” the official mentioned.