Ukraine took down Russia’s flagship Moskva in the Black Sea with the help of US intelligence inputs which confirmed its identification and location, according to reports.
However, US officials have denied involvement and claimed that Washington had no advance warning that Ukraine was going to target the Moskva.
Pentagon officials have said that a majority of Russian forces have left Mariupol even as intense fighting in the port city remains underway.
And, the British defence ministry has said that Russia’s renewed effort to secure Azovstal and complete the capture of Mariupol is likely linked to the upcoming 9 May Victory Day commemorations and “Putin’s desire to have a symbolic success in Ukraine”.
A third operation has been launched by the United Nations and Red Cross to rescue civilians from the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol and the Azovstal steel plant, where scores of people remain trapped, many of them sick or wounded.
