Russia summons US ambassador to Moscow over Ukrainian drone attack in Crimea

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Russia on Monday summoned Washington's ambassador to the country over a Ukrainian drone attack a day earlier in the city of Sevastopol in Crimea, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014.

A statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry said US Ambassador to Moscow Lynne Tracy was conveyed that Washington "bears equal responsibility” for the attack together with Kyiv, which it described as an "atrocity."

Claiming that the attack in Sevastopol was “sponsored and armed by Washington,” the statement further said Tracy was told that the US actions aimed to encourage Kyiv to "continue hostilities" in Ukraine and would “not go unpunished.”

“Retaliatory measures will certainly follow,” it added.

On Sunday, at least four people were killed and 153 injured following a Ukrainian drone attack in the city of Sevastopol.

Russia claimed that its air defenses downed four ATACMS missiles "equipped with cluster warheads," though another missile deviated from its flight path and detonated over the city’s coastal areas.

Ukrainian authorities have not yet commented on the claims.