The Kremlin threatened the United States on Monday of possible “consequences” and summoned its ambassador to Russia, the day after a Ukrainian bombing in Crimea that, according to Moscow, was carried out with American missiles.
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitri Peskov called the bombing of Sevastopol “barbarism” and accused Washington of “killing Russian children.”
Two of the four victims of the attack on the peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014 were minors.
“It is clear that the participation of the United States in the fighting, its direct participation, which leads to the death of Russian citizens, has to have consequences,” Peskov insisted.
It is evident that the participation of the United States in the fighting, its direct participation, which leads to the death of Russian citizens, has to have consequences
“Time will tell what” the consequences will be, he added.
The Russian Foreign Ministry in turn announced that it had summoned Lynne Tracy, the US ambassador in Moscow, to inform her of “retaliatory measures.”
Washington “bears the same responsibility as the kyiv regime for this atrocity,” he later added in a statement. The attack “will not go unpunished,” she insisted.
Russia claims that Sunday’s bombing of Sevastopol was carried out with Atacams missiles supplied by the United States and loaded with cluster warheads.
Moscow-appointed authorities in Crimea said the missiles hit an area with beaches and hotels in the port city.
Volodymyr Zelensky.
Photo:AFP
Speaking to international media earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin criticised the shipment of long-range weapons to Ukraine by Western powers.
“If someone thinks that it is possible to supply these weapons to a war zone to attack our territory (…) why don’t we have the right to send weapons of the same type to regions of the world where sensitive installations will be hit” of countries that act against Russia? he had asked.
“That is, the response may be asymmetrical. We will think about it,” he had added to journalists.
Peskov also referred to statements by Putin, who assured that Western countries provided data to Ukraine for the bombings.
“Crimea is Ukraine,” Andrei Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president’s office, insisted on Monday.
An adviser to the Ukrainian president, Mikhail Podoliak, in turn suggested that Crimea was a legitimate military objective.
Russian troops in Crimea.
Photo:EFE
What is known about the Ukrainian attack in Crimea
Three people died and nearly 100 were injured this Sunday in Sevastopol, on the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, annexed by Russia, in a Ukrainian missile attack, the Moscow-installed governor announced.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Ukraine used weapons supplied by the United States in this attack, and accused it of using cluster bombs.
If someone thinks that it is possible to supply such weapons to a war zone to attack our territory (…) why don’t we have the right to send weapons of the same type to regions of the world where sensitive installations will be hit?
Sevastopol is a regular target of attacks as it is home to the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Crimea, annexed by Moscow since 2014, is a fundamental logistics point for the Russian army.
“The death toll has risen to three: two children and one adult,” Governor Mikhail Razvoyaiev said on Telegram, after a previous toll of two deaths, including a two-year-old child.
“The number of injured has risen to almost 100 people,” he added.
The governor explained that Ukraine launched five missiles that were intercepted over the sea by Russian anti-aircraft defenses, although some fragments fell on a beach area in the city, causing injuries and even a fire in a house and a forest.
The Russian Defense Ministry stated that Ukraine committed “a terrorist attack against civilian infrastructure in Sevastopol.”with American Atacams tactical missiles loaded with cluster bombs.
The ministry said four missiles were shot down, and the fifth changed course after being intercepted, causing the payload to explode in the air over the city of Sevastopol.
Also this Sunday, a Ukrainian drone attack caused one death and three injuries in Graivoron, a town in the Russian region of Belgorod, near the border with Ukraine, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said this Sunday.
The Belgorod region is a frequent target of Ukrainian attacks. kyiv claims to defend itself from Russian attacks against its own territory.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday urged allied countries to help kyiv step up its attacks on Russian soil.
“We have enough determination to destroy the terrorists on their territory,” and “we need the same determination from our partners,” the president wrote.
