Attack on Sevastopol

Kiev calls injured and dead “civilian occupiers”

The attack on Sevastopol is said to have been carried out with ATACMS missiles.(Bild: APA/AP)

Following the latest Ukrainian missile attack on the Black Sea port city of Sevastopol, the Russian authorities have declared a state of emergency. As reported, several bathers on a beach were killed when rocket debris hit. While Moscow speaks of an "absolutely barbaric" attack with the help of the USA, the government in Kiev sees the victims as legitimate targets or "civilian occupiers".

"There are not and cannot be any 'beaches', 'tourist zones' or other fictitious signs of 'peaceful life' in Crimea," emphasized presidential advisor Mychajlo Podoljak on Monday. Crimea is an area with hundreds of military targets where combat operations are taking place. 

Kiev: "Russia must leave Crimea"
The Kremlin is attempting to cover these targets with its own civilians, who would in turn become "civilian occupiers", Podoljak wrote on Telegram. 

The attack on Sevastopol is said to have been carried out with ATACMS missiles.(Bild: APA/AP)

The head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Yermak, wrote on Telegram on Monday: "Crimea is Ukrainian." Russia must leave the peninsula, "its army and military objects there must cease to exist". Crimea was annexed by Russia back in 2014.

Kremlin: "USA has become a party to the conflict"
The Kremlin declared that the attack with US-supplied ATACMS missiles would have consequences. The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the US ambassador in Moscow, Lynne Tracy. The diplomat was told that the USA "shares responsibility with the regime in Kiev for these atrocities". "The USA, which is waging a hybrid war against Russia, has become a party to the conflict", the ministry declared on Monday. The attack "will not go unpunished".