Newsman: The Russian Foreign Ministry has summoned the American ambassador on Monday to protest what it says was the use of U.S.-made advanced missiles in a Ukrainian attack on Russian-annexed Crimea that reportedly killed four people and wounded more than 150.
Russia said the missiles were U.S.-made ATACMS, a long-range, guided missile. It summoned U.S. Ambassador Lynne Tracy to the Foreign Ministry. The targeting and “mission input” for such missile attacks is carried out by U.S. military experts, the ministry statement alleged, saying the United States bears “equal responsibility for this outrage” with the Ukrainian authorities.
Washington “has effectively become a party” to the war on Ukraine’s side, the ministry said in a statement, adding, “Retaliatory measures will certainly follow.” It did not elaborate.
It also went on to say that “allowing strikes deep inside the Russian territory will not be left unanswered.”
Russian authorities said that the dead in Sunday’s attack included two children who were hit by falling debris from Ukrainian missiles that were shot down over a coastal area in Sevastopol, a port city in Crimea. It said cluster munitions, which critics say harm more civilians than combatants, were also used.
The Pentagon said last week that Ukraine’s military is being allowed to use longer-range missiles provided by the U.S. to strike targets inside Russia if it is acting in self-defense. Since the outset of the war, the U.S. had maintained a policy of not allowing Ukraine to use the weapons it provided to hit targets on Russian soil for fear of further escalating the conflict.
