Russian cruiser Moskva is currently battling a fire onboard:

According to a senior US defence official, the Russian cruiser Moskva is currently battling a fire onboard. But the US cannot identify what caused the damage.

The ship is reportedly travelling east, according to the official, and the US expects it will dock at Sevastopol for repairs.

According to the official, the US has seen that other Russian ships in the northern Black Sea near the Moskva have all headed south.

Ukraine claimed to have fired a missile at Moskva, while Russia maintained the source of the fire is still “under investigation” and that the ship is not on fire.

“We don’t know what caused the cruiser Moskva to be damaged. We believe she has sustained major injuries. She still looks to be fighting a fire onboard, in our opinion. However, the extent of the damage is unknown. We have no information on her crew’s casualties. “At this moment, we can’t determine for sure what caused the damage,” the US official stated.

“We’re stopping the ship from heading east. We’re guessing she’ll be headed to Sevastopol for repairs. But that’s basically all we have to say about it. The only other noteworthy nautical activity is that other Black Sea ships operating in the area of her or in the northern Black Sea have all headed south in the aftermath of the Moskva’s damage. So all of the northern Black Sea ships have now relocated out of the northern areas where they were operating,” the source continued.

In an interview with CNN earlier Thursday, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby reiterated similar remarks, stating that “there was an explosion” on the Russian cruiser. But that the US cannot determine if the ship was struck by a missile at this time.