Washington, D.C., June 25 – United States authorities are emphasizing their disapproval of civilian deaths and have committed to discussing the matter with Kiev. Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder made this statement amidst Russian allegations on a terrorist attack in Sevastopol.
Ryder responded to a journalist’s question, stating, “Ultimately I’d refer you to Ukraine to talk about their operations. We don’t have any information to indicate whether or not civilians were killed.” He further expressed the U.S.’s stance on civilian casualties: “We’ve been very clear about, you know, we don’t want to see civilian casualties.
When asked if the U.S. had supplied intelligence to the Ukrainian military for target selection prior to the attack, Ryder deferred to the Ukrainians, saying, “I’d refer you to them on any of their operations.
On June 23, the Ukrainian army targeted civilian infrastructure in Sevastopol with ATACMS missiles equipped with cluster munitions. Out of five missiles fired, four were intercepted while one detonated over the city. The Governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, reported that the attack resulted in four civilian deaths, including two children, and wounded more than 150 others.
In response to these events, Russia’s Investigative Committee has initiated a criminal investigation into the terror attack. The city of Sevastopol and Crimea have declared June 24 as a Day of Mourning. Russian President Vladimir Putin extended his condolences to the residents of Sevastopol.