Russia summons American ambassador over deadly attack in which Moscow says US missiles were used

The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the American ambassador on Monday to protest the use of state-of-the-art American-made missiles in a Ukrainian attack on Russian-annexed Crimea, which reportedly killed four people and injured more than 150.

Washington has “actually become a party” to the war on Ukraine’s side, the ministry said in a statement. It added: “Retaliatory measures will certainly follow.” It did not provide any further details.

There was no immediate comment from US or Ukrainian government officials. The Associated Press was unable to independently verify Russia’s information on the missiles deployed.

Kyiv’s armed forces have been heavily dependent on weapons from the West since the Russian invasion more than three years ago. Military aid has been crucial in Ukraine’s ability to keep the Kremlin’s army in check. For many months, there have been few major changes along the 1,000-kilometer-long front line in eastern and southern Ukraine.

Some Western countries were reluctant to provide more – and more sophisticated – assistance to Kyiv’s army, fearing that doing so would provoke the Kremlin. But as Ukraine struggled at times to withstand the stronger and better-equipped Russian army, Western leaders gradually relented and provided more support.

In the latest major development, the Pentagon said last week that the Ukrainian military had the capability to use U.S.-supplied long-range missiles against targets in Russia if it was in self-defense. Since the beginning of the war, the U.S. had had a policy of prohibiting Ukraine from using the weapons it supplied against targets on Russian soil, fearing further escalation of the conflict.

Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014 and which most of the world rejected as illegal, has long been considered a legitimate target for Ukraine.

Russian authorities said those killed in Sunday’s attack included two children hit by falling debris from Ukrainian missiles fired over a coastal area in Sevastopol, a port city in Crimea. They said cluster munitions were also used, which critics say harm more civilians than fighters.

Russia said the missiles were US ATACMS long-range guided missiles and summoned US Ambassador Lynne Tracy to the State Department.

The targeting and “deployment” of such missile attacks would be carried out by US military experts, the ministry’s statement said. The US bears “the same responsibility for this scandal” as the Ukrainian authorities.

It went on to say that “permission to launch attacks deep inside Russian territory will not be left unanswered.”

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Monday an attack on a “key logistics hub” of the Ukrainian military that contained missiles and other weapons from the West.

It said the attack was carried out with fighter jets, drones, ground-based missiles and artillery. The ministry did not disclose the location of the attack.

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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine.