Russia Blames U.S. for ATACMS Missile Strike on Sevastopol, Vows Revenge

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Russia has accused the U.S. of direct involvement in a June 23 missile strike on Sevastopol in annexed Crimea using U.S.-supplied long-range ATACMS missiles, prompting Moscow to vow retaliation.

According to the Russian defense ministry, Ukrainian troops launched five ATACMS tactical missiles equipped with cluster munitions. Four of these missiles were intercepted by Russian air defense systems, while the warhead of the fifth missile detonated in the sky above Sevastopol. Debris from the intercepted missiles reportedly fell near a beach in the northern part of the city, where locals were enjoying their holiday, just after noon. A U.S.-made RA-4B Global Hawk high-altitude reconnaissance drone scouting the area reportedly provided Ukrainian military with GPS targeting information and coordinated the strike.

The aftermath of the attack was severe. Russian-installed authorities in Crimea reported that four civilians lost their lives, and 82 residents were hospitalized. The total number of victims, including those with minor injuries, exceeded 150 people. In response, Sevastopol's regional governor, Mikhail Razvozzhaev, declared June 24 a day of mourning to honor the victims.

Further intensifying the situation, the Russian defense ministry accused U.S. specialists of setting the missiles' flight coordinates based on intelligence from U.S. spy satellites, thereby implicating Washington in the attack. "The American specialists input all flight tasks in the U.S.-made ATACMS operational-tactical missiles on the basis of data of the U.S. satellite reconnaissance. That is why Washington is mostly responsible for the deliberate missile strike at peaceful residents of Sevastopol," the ministry stated. It also warned that such actions would not go unanswered.

In the evening, Ukrainian Armed Forces launched another round of ATACMS missiles targeting Crimea. This time, American shells were intercepted in the Yevpatoria area. Footage of the launch, showing eight missiles from M270B launchers, circulated on enemy propaganda resources. The strike's results were recorded by an American RQ-4B Global Hawk drone, which had taken off from the Italian Sigonella airbase.

The U.S. reaction to Kyiv's attack was mixed. Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene expressed her disapproval, inviting fellow deputies to imagine a similar situation in the United States. "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," Greene said in a social media post.

The United States began supplying Ukraine with longer-range ATACMS missiles, which have a range of 300 kilometers (186 miles), earlier this year.