KYIV, Ukraine — As Russian troops struck across eastern Ukraine on Thursday and mounted a new push to kill or capture the last remaining Ukrainian fighters defending the besieged port city of Mariupol, new evidence emerged that the U.S. provided intelligence that helped Ukraine sink a formidable Russian warship last month.
An American official told multiple major news outlets, including The Associated Press, that the U.S. has provided “a range of intelligence” to Ukraine, including the location of Russian ships on the Black Sea. The official said Ukraine decided on its own to use that information to target the Moskva, the missile cruiser whose sinking was a strategic and symbolic defeat for Russia.
The Biden administration has increased intelligence-sharing with Ukraine and has ratcheted up its shipments of arms to the war-torn nation, which was invaded by Russia on Feb. 24. The stepped-up involvement comes as Russia appears intent on seizing control — and possibly annexing — large stretches of eastern Ukraine.
