Vedant Patel, Deputy Representative of the US Department of State commented Drone attacks on facilities in the Bryansk region and Sevastopol. He said Washington will continue to help Kiev and try to hold Russia accountable for its actions on Ukrainian soil.
“Let our Ukrainian partners talk about the specific operations they have decided to undertake. “I think it’s very important that we all remember that Russia is trying to invade Ukraine and erase its borders and national identity,” Patel said.
He stated that the US will take steps to hold Moscow accountable.
“We are doing everything possible to support our Ukrainian partners to ensure they have the necessary tools to protect themselves to achieve the best possible position at the negotiating table,” the agency representative added.
Attacks of objects in the Crimea and Bryansk region
On April 28, the head of the region, Alexander Bogomaz, reported the drone attack on the Bryansk region. According to him, at that time in the Suzemsky district no one was injured, but a garage and a house with a car were damaged.
On May 1, the governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhaev, spoke about a downed drone. Crimean President Sergei Aksyonov stated that the drone was shot down by an air defense system in the west of the peninsula.
On April 29, an explosion occurred at an oil depot in Kazachya Bay during a drone attack in Sevastopol. Razvozhaev reported that one drone was shot down by the squadron with small arms, and the second crashed into an oil storage tank. A fire broke out as a result of which four tanks were damaged. The governor assured that civilian objects were not in danger. By evening the fire was extinguished.
Natalia Gumenyuk, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Southern Defense Forces, described the attack on the Sevastopol oil depot as a preparation for a counterattack. According to him, this attack will force Russian forces to “disperse in search of a safer place”.
Ukrainian military intelligence actually confirmed that Ukraine attacked the oil depot. Andriy Yusov, representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, described the attack as “God’s punishment for Uman” and advised the residents of Crimea not to be near military installations in the near future.
West against the onslaught of Russian territory
On the other hand, according to Reuters, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Western countries had previously introduced a rule that Ukraine could not attack Russian territory with weapons supplied by them.
In his view, Ukraine “needs more help”, but military aid should not lead to an escalation and participation in the NATO conflict.
It is worth noting that the United States and European countries do not consider attacks on objects in Crimea as attacks on Russian territory, since they do not recognize Crimea as Russian. So, in February 2023, US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland described military facilities in Crimea as “legitimate targets” for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to him, “there are huge military installations on the peninsula that Russia has turned into important logistics points.”
“These are legitimate targets. Ukraine is attacking them. We also support them,” he said.