Ukrainian armed forces fire ATACMS missiles into Crimea

"Early this morning, the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine launched a missile attack on Crimea. Russian air defense systems were active over Dzhankoy and Simferopol. According to preliminary data, the Ukrainian military used several ATACMS ballistic missiles to attack the peninsula," Vladimir Rogov, chairman of the Russian Committee for the Protection of Sovereignty, shared information on the Telegram channel.

Mr Rogov added that before the missile attack, the alarm was activated across the peninsula, and the Crimean bridge was blocked.

On April 26, the New York Times (USA) quoted a source close to the Pentagon as saying that the US had transferred more than 100 ATACMS long-range tactical missiles to Ukraine, and the Pentagon admitted that Ukraine could use ATACMS to attack Crimea. The goal is to increase pressure on the peninsula.

Earlier, a representative of the US Department of Defense told RIA Novosti that the US considers the Crimea, Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions - the regions annexed to Russia - to be "sovereign territories of Ukraine". Therefore, the Armed Forces of Ukraine can use ATACMS operational-tactical missiles.

On Moscow's side, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov emphasized that the US is directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine, but this will not change the outcome of Russia's special military campaign.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev once affirmed that an attack on Crimea would mean an escalation of the conflict; at the same time, he called on Ukraine to understand that such attacks would be met with an "inevitable response", regardless of what kind of weapons Kiev uses./.