Moscow on Monday warned of “consequences” for America, as it accused Washington of being involved in deadly strikes on Russian-occupied Crimea using U.S.-made rockets.
According to Russia’s state-owned RIA Novosti, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said “time would tell” what the response would be to the use of what Moscow claims were five Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles donated to Ukraine by the U.S.
“Of course, the involvement of the United States of America in hostilities, direct involvement in hostilities that result in the death of Russian civilians, this, of course, cannot but have consequences,” Peskov said. “What exactly — time will tell.”
Ukraine has been fending off Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion since February 2022 with the help of Western weapons.
While Russia’s defense ministry claims to have intercepted four of the missiles, fragments of a fifth detonated in mid-air after being struck by air defenses, killing four people and injuring 151 on the ground, according to the RIA Novosti report.
The United States agreed to deliver long-distance ATACMS missiles with a 300-kilometer range to Ukraine earlier this year, with the White House also agreeing in May to allow Kyiv to use donated weaponry to hit targets inside Russia and on territory claimed by Moscow.
Russia’s state-owned media outlet TASS reported Monday that the Kremlin had summoned U.S. Ambassador to Moscow Lynn Tracy to the foreign ministry in response to the Crimea attack.
Footage circulating on social media on Sunday showed bathers fleeing from beaches in the Crimea region. Russia has meanwhile continued to carry out attacks on Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, killing scores of civilians.
In a separate missile strike Sunday, Ukrainian forces also targeted a military radar station in Crimea which is used to monitor deep space and handle satellite data, according to open source intelligence accounts.