The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the US ambassador on Monday to protest what it says was the use of advanced US-made missiles in a Ukrainian attack on Russian-annexed Crimea that reportedly killed four people and injured more than 150.
Washington “has effectively become a party” to the war alongside Ukraine, the ministry said in a statement, adding: “Retaliatory measures will certainly follow.” It was not specified.
There was no immediate comment from U.S. or Ukrainian officials. The Associated Press could not independently verify Russia’s claims about the missiles used.
kyiv’s forces have relied heavily on weapons supplied by the West since the Russian invasion more than three years ago. Military aid has been crucial in allowing Ukraine to keep the Kremlin’s military at bay, with few major changes along the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line in the east and south of Ukraine for several months.
Some Western countries have been reluctant to provide greater – and more sophisticated – aid to kyiv’s military, fearing a possible provocation from the Kremlin. But while Ukraine has at times struggled to hold its own against the larger and better-equipped Russian army, Western leaders have gradually relented and provided more support.
In the latest key development, the Pentagon said last week that Ukraine’s military was authorized to use longer-range U.S.-supplied missiles to strike targets in Russia if it was acting in self-defense. Since the start of the war, the United States had a policy of not allowing Ukraine to use the weapons it supplied to strike targets on Russian soil, for fear of further escalation of the conflict.
Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014 in a move that most of the world rejected as illegal, has long been declared a fair target for Ukraine by its Western allies.
Russian authorities said the dead in Sunday’s attack included two children hit by debris from Ukrainian missiles shot down over a coastal area of Sevastopol, a Crimean port city. He added that cluster munitions, which critics say harm civilians more than combatants, were also used.
Russia said the missiles were US-made ATACMS, a long-range guided missile. She summoned American Ambassador Lynne Tracy to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The targeting and “mission contribution” of such missile attacks are carried out by American military experts, the ministry statement asserts, asserting that the United States bears “equal responsibility for this outrage” with Ukrainian authorities.
He adds that “allowing strikes deep inside Russian territory will not go unanswered.”
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry announced Monday that it had struck a “major logistics center” of the Ukrainian army that held missiles and other weapons supplied by the West.
According to the statement, the strike was carried out by fighter jets, drones, ground-launched missiles and artillery. The ministry did not specify its location.
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