Russia accuses the United States of having “responsibility” for a strike in Crimea

The Russian Defense Ministry has accused the United States of having “responsibility” in a deadly strike on Sunday June 23 in Crimea, an annexed peninsula, because it was allegedly carried out with ATACMS missiles, supplied by Washington to kyiv. “Responsibility for the deliberate missile strike against civilians in Sevastopol (city in Crimea) lies primarily with Washington, which supplied these weapons to Ukraine” as well as to the authorities in kyiv, the ministry said in a statement. “Such actions will not go unanswered”he added.

The missile attack left three dead, including two children, and around a hundred injured in Sevastopol, according to local governor Mikhail Razvojaïev on Telegram, installed by Moscow. Crimea was annexed in 2014 by Russia, and remains a territory disputed by Ukraine, which regularly carries out military operations there.

In April, the United States announced that it had sent ATACMS missiles to Ukraine, which had been requesting them for a long time. Washington then authorized kyiv to use these weapons to target Russian soil. Ukraine first used them in October against Russia, but those sent recently have a longer range, up to 300 km away. Ukraine has not yet commented on the Sevastopol strike.