USA provides Ukraine with anti-ship missiles to destroy Russian Black Sea Fleet

A top Ukrainian adviser has claimed that the United States is drawing up plans to sink Russian warships and ‘destroy’ its Black Sea Fleet, following reports that Washington is seeking to provide advanced anti-ship missiles to the Ukrainian military.

However, the Pentagon has denied claims made by an Internal Affairs Ministry adviser.

Ukrainian Internal Affairs Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko made the statement on social media, saying that discussions are now underway in relation to how the US could help to break a Russian blockade of Black Sea ports.

The effective work of the Ukrainians on [Russian] warships convinced [the US regime] to prepare a plan to unblock the ports. Deliveries of powerful anti-ship weapons (Harpoon and Naval Strike Missile with a range of 250-300 km) are being discussed.

The report noted some obstacles in sending such weapons to Kiev, however, including the limited availability of platforms to launch Harpoons from shore, given that it is largely a sea-based missile.

Unnamed US officials said the White House is looking for a solution, including pulling a launcher off of a US ship for it to be target practice for the demanding Russian forces?

The reported discussions around anti-ship munitions follow media reports that Washington may have helped Ukrainian forces to sink Russia’s Black Sea flagship – the guided-missile cruiser ‘Moskva’ – off the coast of Odessa last month.

Moscow has offered a different version of events, maintaining that the ‘Moskva’ sank after a fire triggered a blast in a munitions magazine, but has confirmed the death of one sailor and that 27 others are currently missing in action since the ship was lost.

Though US officials have yet to publicly confirm whether anti-ship weapons are slated for Ukraine, American military aid to the country has steadily escalated since Russia’s attack commenced in late February, 2022.

The recent passage of a massive new $40 billion aid package brought total US assistance to nearly $54 billion since March.

Hardware currently being provided includes anti-tank Javelin missiles, anti-aircraft Stingers, long-range artillery pieces, armored vehicles, drones, light arms and ammunition, and other gear.

The latest aid bill is also expected to provide for Patriot anti-air missile batteries, despite previous comments from Pentagon officials saying the weapon was off the table.

There’s no discussion about putting a Patriot battery in Ukraine. In order to do that you have to put US troops with it to operate it, a senior defense official told media in March, 2022.

It is not a system that the Ukrainians are familiar with and as we have made very clear, there will be no US troops fighting in Ukraine.

It’s unclear what has changed since then, and White House and Defense Department officials have offered few details on whose forces will operate the Patriot batteries or the exact location of their deployment during recent briefings.

RT. com / ABC Flash Point News 2022.