Russia reports over 100 were injured and five killed by Ukrainian attacks using American ATACMS missiles
The Russian Health Ministry reports that five people were killed and over 100 injured by a Ukrainian missile barrage in Crimea. Moscow claimed American cluster munitions were used in the attack.
On Sunday, Russian civilians in Crimea were hit with debris and cluster munitions from a Ukrainian attack. “According to latest reports, as a result of the shelling attack on Sevastopol by Ukrainian nationalists, 124 people, including 27 children, received wounds or injuries,” Russian health minister Alexey Kuznetsov said. It appears this attack was on people sunning and swimming at the beach.
The Russian news agency TASS reported that five American-made ATACMS with cluster munitions were used in the attack. Moscow claimed to down four missiles, and the fifth exploded over Sevastopol.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the US was responsible for the attack because of its role in helping Ukraine fire the ATACMS missiles. “All flight missions for the American ATACMS operational-tactical missiles are entered by American specialists based on US satellite reconnaissance data.” The statement continued, “Therefore, 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.”
The statement added, “Such actions will not go unanswered.” The Kremlin labeled the attack an act of terrorism. Kiev claims the Crimea Peninsula is Ukrainian territory, but Russia has had full control over the region since Moscow annexed it in 2014.
The US has green-lit Ukraine to attack limited Russian territory, including Crimea. The US recently expanded to allow Kiev to hit targets inside of Russian territory within 100 kilometers, 62 miles, of Kiev’s Sumy and Kharkiv Oblasts.
However, Kiev is still seeking broader authorization from the US on the range and weapons it can use to hit targets inside Russia. “Neither the range nor the category [of weapons] is sufficient,” a Ukrainian defense official told the Washington Post.
The New York Times previously reported that the restrictions on Ukraine’s use of US weapons were put in place as part of President Biden’s plans to “avoid World War III.” But throughout the war, the US and other NATO countries have taken escalations they previously ruled out due to fear of provoking Russia.
Still, Kiev is asking Washington to further provoke Moscow by sending more advanced weapons systems. “Modern air defense systems for Ukraine — such as Patriots, accelerated training of our pilots for F-16s, and most importantly, sufficient range for our weapons — are truly necessary,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday.
