U.S. on Sevastopol blasts: Russia could stop war today

The United States provides weapons to Ukraine so that the nation is able to defend its territory, including the Crimean peninsula. Meanwhile, Russia can end the suffering of civilians at any moment if it puts an end to its war of aggression.

This was stated by U.S. State Department spokesman Matt Miller, who spoke at a Washington briefing on Monday, Ukrinform's own correspondent reports.

"We provide weapons to Ukraine so it can defend its sovereign territory against armed aggression. That includes in Crimea, which of course is part of Ukraine," the spokesman stressed.

Noting that the U.S. laments any civilian loss of life in the ongoing war, Miller underlined the fact that Russia could end the suffering today if it would “stop its occupation of sovereign Ukrainian territory and stop launching attacks on civilians”.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the U.S. ambassador to Russia, Lynn Tracy, in connection with the recent missile attack on Sevastopol, home to the Black Sea fleet naval base in temporarily occupied Crimea. Russian authorities claim that an U.S.-made ATACMS missile with a cluster warhead hit the city. After air defenses allegedly altered its path, the missile debris hit a local beach, Russia says.

In this regard, the spokesman for the Ukrainian Naval Forces, Dmytro Pletenchuk, said Ukraine does not inflict fire damage on civilian targets, adding that the Russians neglect the safety of their own civilian population.