Russia warns US to brace for retaliation after Crimea missile attack
The Kremlin accused the U.S. of ‘killing Russian children’ after a Ukrainian attack on occupied Crimea with long-range ATACMS missiles supplied by Washington. Moscow summoned the U.S. ambassador to issue a formal warning, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov issued a biting public comment blaming the U.S., calling the strike 'barbaric.'
‘You should ask my colleagues in Europe, and above all in Washington, the press secretaries, why their governments are killing Russian children. Just ask them this question,’ Peskov told reporters.
The attack in Sevastopol killed at least four people, including two children. Russia blamed the U.S. and said 150 were injured. Video shows panicked beachgoers fleeing from falling shrapnel after Russian air defense intercepted the missiles.
Russia seized Crimea in 2014, and Ukraine has launched a series of drone attacks at Russian naval assets and the Black Sea port since Russia’s 2022 invasion. The ATACMs, long sought by Kiev, provide a longer range than missiles previously supplied by the U.S.
The U.S. began supplying the ATACMs to Ukraine earlier this year after intense lobbying from Kiev. Weeks ago, the U.S. changed its policy to allow use of the weapons inside Russian territory along border regions with Ukraine.
That came amid relentless Russian attacks on Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, after Moscow experienced battlefield gains.
Ukrainian commanders have pleaded for the authority to use the weapons to strike where Russia amasses troops and stores aircraft and ammunition for its assaults on its territory.
The long-range ATACMs were included in a March military aid package, although restrictions still prevent their use deep inside Russian territory. They have a range of 300 kilometers (about 190 miles). Russia's war on Ukraine, and Ukraine's defense by the U.S. and NATO allies, has put deep strains between the U.S. and Russia, both nuclear powers.
After the Sevastopol strike, Russia accused the U.S. of 'waging a hybrid war against Russia and has actually become a party to the conflict.' Russia threatened in comments to ambassador Lynne Tracy that the attack would 'not go unpunished. Retaliatory measures will definitely follow.'
