Washington, April 16 : A top US official has assessed that ‘Moskva’, Russia’s flagship in the Black Sea that sank on Thursday, was hit by the two Ukrainian Neptune missiles. Two Ukrainian Neptune missiles hit the ‘Moskva’ — Russia’s flagship in the Black Sea — earlier this week, CNN on Saturday quoted the senior defence official as saying. The Russian ship sank due to firing of the Ukrainian missiles, a more detailed assessment from an the official said. On Friday, the broadcaster reported that the US believed with “medium confidence” that Ukraine’s version of events regarding the missile strike on the warship — which Moscow has disputed — was accurate, according to a source familiar with the intelligence. The 510-crew vessel was a symbol of Russia’s military power and has led the naval assault on Ukraine. On the night of April 14, the Russia’s Ministry of Defense reported that a fire had started on the Moskva cruiser, causing the amm tion to detonate. The crew was completely evacuated. At the same time, the main missile armament was not damaged, the source of ignition was localized and the ship remained buoyant, the ministry said. “During the towing of the Moskva cruiser to the port of destination, due to damage to the hull received during the fire from the detonation of amm tion, the ship lost stability. In the conditions of stormy seas, the ship sank,” the Russian military department said. But, Ukrainian military officials had said they struck the Moskva with a Ukrainian-made Neptune missile – a weapon designed after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. On Friday, The UK Defence Ministry had said Russia has now suffered damage to two of its key naval assets since it invaded Ukraine on February 24. VP GK