Ukraine Attacked Civilians in Sevastopol with US Missiles, Pentagon Declines to Comment
On Sunday, 23 June, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) struck the Crimean city of Sevastopol with US-made ATACMS cruise missiles, resulting in the death of five people and injuring about 150 others.
The missile strike was reported by Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev in a social media post:
"Today, on the bright holiday of the Trinity, we suffer a great sorrow. The enemy struck stealthily, at a time when civilians who were returning from service and who had already gone to the sea with their children."
It is noteworthy that the cluster munition missile attack took place one day after the anniversary of the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War. Cluster munitions, also known as cluster bombs, were banned in many countries by a special convention back in 2008, as their use could lead to harmful consequences for civilians.
Thus, a missile disperses smaller munitions over a very large area. However, they were intended to hit the enemy's "live" forces and armoured vehicles. The use of "clusters" poses a danger even many years after an attack, since submunitions may not detonate and may lie in the ground for a long time.
The main strikes reportedly hit the beach in Uchkuevka and Lyubimovka. As of Sunday evening, the number of victims exceeded 150. One of the victims was the daughter of Magadan deputy mayor Oleg Averyanov. The authorities have declared 24 June a day of mourning in Crimea and Sevastopol.
The Defence Ministry reported that the AFU fired a total of five ATACMS missiles. Russian air defences managed to deflect four of the five missiles, but the last one deviated from its course and exploded in mid-air. As a result of the explosion, the cluster charges hit residential areas of the city.
"In the course of repelling the missile attacks by the air defence forces on duty, four American ATACMS missiles were intercepted. The detonation of the fragmentation warhead of the fifth US missile in the air resulted in numerous casualties among civilians in Sevastopol."
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that Moscow would add the reaction of international organisations to the deaths of civilians. She also condemned the UN statement that the organisation wanted "all sides to take steps to avoid civilian casualties", calling the comment "an admission of its own redundancy." Strikes on civilians and non-military targets are often assessed as terrorist attacks aimed at inciting panic and destabilising society.
Holding the AFU responsible for the attack, the Russian Defence Ministry stated that the attack was carried out on the basis of US satellite intelligence. The Russian ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, also expressed the opinion that the US authorities were responsible for the AFU attack on Sevastopol.
"It is obvious to politicians in Washington that the cluster munitions in ATACMS missiles cannot be launched without the participation of US specialists and support from US intelligence."
Notably, there are US drones flying over the Black Sea on a regular basis. According to Flightradar, the Global Hawk went on duty at 9 a.m. on Sunday, which may indicate its involvement in intelligence gathering to organise an attack on Sevastopol.
US response
The Pentagon, the US Defence Department's headquarters, declined to comment on the AFU strike, which was carried out with US-made missiles.
"We have seen the reports, and we have nothing to say."
Back in late May, European countries one after another began granting Kyiv "permission" to use weapons received from them to strike Russian territory. US President Joe Biden authorised Ukraine to strike with US weapons, even though he had previously said that the move would lead to escalation and further involve the US in the war between Ukraine and Russia. According to the media, the Russian offensive in Kharkiv region forced Biden to reconsider his stance. However, the authorisation only applied to strikes in the border region, whereas an attack on Sevastopol violated the agreement.
US House of Representatives member Marjorie Taylor Greene also condemned the use of US-made missiles to strike Crimea.
“This should not be happening. Imagine if Russia using a Russian satellite, fired cluster munitions on a Florida beach. The only border our American military should be defending is our own border and the constitution mandates the federal government to defend the states.”
Military experts emphasise that the operation of high-tech US missile systems is impossible without the participation of NATO instructors responsible for launching and guiding the alliance's cruise missiles. Moscow also stated that Russian missiles would strike US centres in Ukraine responsible for ATACMS launches.
A day earlier, Ukraine's military leadership requested permission from the alliance to expand the ATACMS missile strike zone to 300 kilometres. Consequently, the strike on Sevastopol suggests that Ukraine received approval from the US side.
However, an increase in the missiles' engagement radius and range will lead to even greater civilian casualties, as evidenced by the strike on Uchkuevka and Lyubimovka. The use of high-tech US-made missiles by the Ukrainians with the support of NATO instructors could lead to destabilisation and a significant escalation of the conflict.
Terrorist attack in Dagestan
On the same day, in the evening of 23 June, terrorists attacked an Orthodox church, a synagogue, and a traffic police post in Makhachkala and Derbent, Republic of Dagestan. The Investigative Committee reported 19 dead, including 15 police officers and four civilians, one of whom was an Orthodox priest.
Investigators reported the elimination of five gunmen. At the moment they are working out the terrorists' connections, interviewing their relatives and acquaintances, according to the republican Interior Ministry.
Investigations are underway in Sergokala district, where its head Magomed Omarov, whose two sons took part in the terrorist attack and were killed in a shootout with law enforcers, was detained the previous day.
One of those killed was the head of the police department of the town of Dagestanskie Ogni, who was wounded in Derbent. Nikolai Kotelnikov, who served in a Derbent church, was another victim of the gunmen.
Law enforcement agencies reported that some of the attackers were listed in the Interior Ministry's databases as having connections in Wahhabi circles. Dagestan's head Sergey Melikov said the militants' main goals were to spread panic and fear.
Chechnya's head Ramzan Kadyrov called the incident "a dastardly provocation and an attempt to bring discord between confessions."
"The terrorists have once again shown their true despicable and cowardly nature. At the same time, as always, they chose unarmed and defenceless people as victims. Like cowards they killed a sick old priest".
Mufti of Dagestan Ahmad Afandi Abdulaev also condemned the militants, noting that real Muslims would never show aggression against innocent and unarmed people.
"Shedding the blood of those who pray in their temples is a bloody act of madness absolutely alien to Islam! These attacks on church service days have taken place before in other churches in the Caucasus. Radicals want to push us together and burn inter-confessional bridges. But they will not succeed."
Military and political experts argue that the attack in Sevastopol, as well as the terrorist attack in Dagestan, serve the same purpose – to undermine Russia from within. Since Ukraine cannot win on the battlefield and the war is heading into its third year, Russia's opponents are betting on dividing and destabilising society by dragging civilians and religious denominations into the conflict.