Latest Videos
Russia has blamed the United States for the deadly Ukrainian strike on Sevastopol in annexed Crimea on Sunday, June 23, warning the U.S. of dire "consequences."
Knewz.com has learned that the Ukrainian missile strike, believed to have been carried out using U.S.-supplied long-range missiles, killed four people, including two children, per authorities.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called the strike on Sevastopol "barbaric" and accused the U.S. of "killing Russian children."
"Naturally, the US’ direct involvement in combat which resulted in Russian civilians dying cannot go without any consequences. Time will tell which ones precisely," Peskov told reporters on June 24, via the Russian state-run news outlet TASS, when asked about possible Russian retaliation to Sunday's strike.
Russia has claimed that its air defense downed four of the five missiles Ukraine launched at Sevastopol, while the fifth one wreaked havoc in the city, per TASS.
"Ukraine attacked civilian infrastructure in Sevastopol using ATACMS tactical missiles equipped with cluster munitions on Sunday. While four missiles were downed, a fifth one exploded over the city," TASS reported.
"Four people, including two children, were killed in the attack, with over 150 others being injured, according to the local governor."
The Foreign Ministry of Russia has also released a statement saying that Washington "bears equal responsibility with the Kyiv regime for this atrocity," per The Moscow Times. The statement also shared Peskov's sentiment as it said that the Ukrainian strike would not "go unpunished."
Notably, the Russian Foreign Ministry has summoned Lynne Tracy, the U.S. Ambassador to Russia, regarding the attack on Sevastopol.
In his statement, Peskov also pointed towards the threats made by Russian President Vladimir Putin in the event Western weapons are used by Ukraine to attack Russian territory.
"Representatives of countries that are NATO members, particularly in Europe, should be aware of what they are playing with. They should keep in mind that theirs are small and densely populated countries," the Russian President said in May 2024, per The Presidency of Russia.
Earlier in June, following the first use of American munition by Ukraine to attack targets in Russia, Sergei Ryabkov, the deputy foreign minister of Russia, reminded the West of Putin's warning once again.
"I urge these figures [in the US] … to spend some of their time, which they apparently spend on some kind of video games, judging by the lightness of their approach, on studying what was said in detail by Putin," Ryabkov said, via The Telegraph.
"I would like to warn American leaders against miscalculations that could have fatal consequences. For unknown reasons, they underestimate the seriousness of the rebuff they may receive."
Russia claimed on Sunday, June 23, that the mayhem in Sevastopol was caused by falling debris from the downed missiles, believed to be U.S.-made ATACMS missiles armed with cluster warheads.
"Footage carried on Russian state TV showed chaos on the beach in the Uchkuyevka area, as people ran from the falling debris and some injured people were carried away on sun loungers," BBC News reported.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed during a meeting in the Belarusian capital Minsk that the ATACMS "cannot be used without the direct participation of the American military, including satellite capabilities," with the Defense Ministry voicing similar claims as well, per BBC News.
However, the White House National Security Council has responded to these claims in a statement to the outlet, which read, "Ukraine makes its own targeting decisions and conducts its own military operations."
In terms of choosing Crimea as the target of a missile strike, Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian president's office, claimed that "Crimea is Ukraine."
"Russia must leave the peninsula. Their army and military objects there must cease to exist," he said on social media, per Kyiv Post.
"Crimea is also a large military camp and warehouse, with hundreds of direct military targets, which the Russians are cynically trying to hide and cover up with their own civilians," said Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior aide to the Ukrainian president, via The Moscow Times.