Ukraine defends Sevastopol strike as self-determined decision
Ukraine makes its own decisions regarding the choice of targets for its attacks, Pentagon spokesman Major Charlie Dietz said on Monday. This statement was in response to a series of accusations from Russia following the attack by Ukrainian forces on Sevastopol using ATACMS missiles supplied by the United States.
Russia claims that Sevastopol was attacked on Sunday with five American ATACMS missiles. Russians blame Ukraine for the attack.
The Russian Ministry of Defense also stated that it is American specialists who input the flight data for ATACMS missiles based on their satellite intelligence data, which means, according to their accusations, that the United States is also responsible for the attack on Sevastopol.
In response to the Sunday attack, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the U.S. Ambassador to Moscow, Lynne M. Tracy.
Dmitry Peskov also commented on the matter. "Of course, the direct involvement of the United States in hostilities, as a result of which Russian civilians are killed, cannot but have consequences. What exactly, time will tell," said the Kremlin spokesman in an interview with the media.
Russia conducts systematic attacks
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, John Bass addressed the attack, stating that while the United States is concerned about civilian casualties in any conflict, he is unable to confirm reports of civilian deaths following the shelling of Sevastopol. Bass added that unlike Russia, which conducts systematic attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine, Kyiv has so far been cautious to minimize civilian casualties.
"And if one were to sort of juxtapose the loss of civilian life in Russia or in parts of Ukraine that are illegally occupied by Russia against the loss of life of Ukrainians from indiscriminate Russian airstrikes on hospitals and schools and any other wide range of civilian capabilities, I think as your respective outlets are reporting, consistently shows there is an enormous gap which demonstrates the brutality, again, of Russia’s ongoing war." continued Bass.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller emphesizes that Russia could stop this war and the suffering it has caused today if it just ceased the occupation of sovereign Ukrainian territory and stopped attacks on civilians. Miller mentioned that the decision to end the conflict lies in the hands of Russia, which should relinquish the occupation of Ukrainian territory and cease attacks on civilians.
