Russia vowed to retaliate against the United States over a Ukrainian strike on Sunday that killed at least four people, including two children, and injured 151 others.
The attack on Sevastopol used U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles and Russian officials said "all flight data was entered by US military crews based on US reconnaissance satellite inputs. A Global Hawk US reconnaissance drone was on duty off Crimea."
Russia's Foreign Ministry summoned U.S. Ambassador Lynne Tracy after the incident and claimed Washington was "waging a hybrid war against Russia and has actually become a party to the conflict." The Kremlin vowed that “retaliatory measures will definitely follow.”
🇷🇺MFA:
— Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) June 24, 2024
On June 24, US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where she was presented with a demarche in connection with a new bloody crime committed by the Kiev regime, patronised and armed by Washington, which launched a well-targeted missile… pic.twitter.com/ewXHr2cEZd
According to Reuters, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Washington green-lit Ukraine’s use of U.S. weapons to defend its territory, including in Crimea.
Pentagon spokesperson Major Charlie Dietz emphasized, however, that "Ukraine makes its own targeting decisions and conducts its own military operations."
The ATACMS missile was reportedly targeting a missile launcher but exploded when Russia intercepted it, sending shrapnel raining down on beachgoers.
After the incident, Russia's Defense Ministry said "responsibility for the deliberate missile attack on civilians in Sevastopol lies primarily with Washington, which supplied these weapons to Ukraine, as well as the Kyiv regime, from whose territory this attack was launched.”
BREAKING: Russia to retaliate against The United States for Ukraine Strike on Crimea. https://t.co/S2V1WD8G4R pic.twitter.com/hZL3jAa97o
— Douglas Macgregor (@DougAMacgregor) June 24, 2024