In this photo provided by the Russian Defence Ministry Press Service, Russian navy missile cruiser Moskva is on patrol in the Mediterranean Sea near the Syrian coast on Dec. 17, 2015. Photo / AP
In this photo provided by the Russian Defence Ministry Press Service, Russian navy missile cruiser Moskva is on patrol in the Mediterranean Sea near the Syrian coast on Dec. 17, 2015. Photo / AP
The US says it shared intelligence with Ukraine about the location of the Russian missile cruiser Moskva before the strike that sank the warship, an incident that was a high-profile failure for Russia's military.
The US also passed intelligence to Ukrainian forces which helped them assassinate a number of high-ranking Russian generals, security sources confirmed.
An American official said on Thursday Ukraine alone decided to target and sink the flagship of Russia's Black Sea Fleet using its own anti-ship missiles.
Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo / AP
But given Russia's attacks on the Ukrainian coastline from the sea, the US had provided "a range of intelligence" that includes locations of those ships, said the official, who was not authorised to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Biden administration has ramped up intelligence sharing with Ukraine alongside the shipment of arms and missiles to help it repel Russia's invasion.
Ukraine estimates that at least 12 Russian generals have been killed in the war.
Senior White House security sources, who wished to remain anonymous, said the US had used "a variety of sources, including classified and commercial satellites, to trace Russian troop movements", the Telegraph reported.
The US officials declined to say how many generals had been killed as a result of intelligence they had given to Ukrainian forces.
Ukraine is utilising Western intelligence in conjunction with intercepted radio and phone communications to take out generals and other targets.
Valery Gerasimov, Vladimir Putin's top general in Ukraine, came within minutes of being killed by laser-guided artillery fire this week when intelligence revealed he was on a covert visit to the Russian frontline, Ukraine said.
The disclosure of US support in the Moskva and other strikes comes as the White House is under pressure from Republicans to do more to support Ukraine's resistance and as polls suggest Americans question whether President Joe Biden is being tough enough on Russia.
Russia's top general in Ukraine, Valery Gerasimov in June last year. Photo / Getty Images
Since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion in February, the White House has tried to balance supporting Ukraine, a democratic ally, against not doing anything that would seem to provoke a direct war between Putin and the US and Nato allies.
As the war has gone on, the White House has ramped up its military and intelligence support, removing some time and geographic limits on what it will tell Ukraine about potential Russian targets.
The official who spoke on Thursday said the US was not aware Ukraine planned to strike the Moskva until after it conducted the operation.
NBC News first reported on the American role in the sinking of the ship.
Speaking earlier on Thursday after a New York Times report about the US role in supporting Ukraine's killing of Russian generals, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said American agencies "do not provide intelligence on the location of senior military leaders on the battlefield or participate in the targeting decisions of the Ukrainian military".
"Ukraine combines information that we and other partners provide with the intel that they themselves are gathering and then they make their own decisions and they take their own actions," Kirby said.
