Update 8 July 2024: The latest missile strike by Russia on Ukraine is quite possibly the payback for the Sevastopol incident as described in the earlier reports below.
Al-jazeera news says that on the morning of 8th July 2024, 36 missiles struck cities across Ukraine . At least 30 killed and hundreds injured .
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| Al jazeera 8 July 2024 |
Anadolu Ajansi (Turkish state media) report of 8 July 2024 says that the Okhmatdyt childrens hospital in kyiv, ukraine was damaged by Russian missile attack causing deaths (numbers not known).
Reuters news agency 8 July 2024 - same details as Al-jazeera (most likely a trusted news initiative source).
The Sevastopol incident
(original blog date 27/6/24)
24 June 2024 Reuters reports that a missile attack on the SW Crimea coastal city of Sevastopol killed at least 4 and injured 151. There are various videos on youtube which claim to show the attack - looks like it was on a beach full of families at the seaside.The important point here is that the Russians are blaming Washington because the attack involves the use of UN banned cluster weapons, which were nevertheless authorised by USA .
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| 24Jun2024 Reuters |
Daily Mail - footage of attack on beach. Says it's shrapnel but i think that the reporters may have got it wrong and it's actually the bomblets from a cluster weapon. This blogger has not seen a cluster weapon in use, but has seen bomblets , and has seen many other bombs over a 2yr period working on RAF bombing ranges.
CGTN - China Global Television network . Shows what appears to be CCTV security footage which it says is Sevastapol beach. Tourists scrambling to avoid bomblets or shrapnel in the sea and beach.
India Today - website shows the CCTV security beach footage .
France24 - French news in English - confirms the Russian saying that there will be consequences.
Weapon used at Sevastapol
The weapon used was an ATACMS surface to surface missile. Cluster weapons are illegal in the UK and banned by UN. The UK does have a slimey weazel worded way of doing things sometimes though according to unherd The UK supports USA use of the banned weapons and it appears there is also some scope for the UK to provide training. This weapon looks like a "normal" surface to surface missile and can be fired from the back of a vehicle. It looks like it can carry a cluster warhead which releases hundreds of bomblets to rain down on the enemy.
WSJ -July 2023. According to Wall Street Journal video website, last year 2023, the Biden administration authorised the use of USA cluster bombs in Ukraine . The WSJ site shows firing range footage of the weapons.
Anadolu Ajansı news - is a Turkish state run media organisation based in Ankara. Says that Russian air defences shot down cluster warhead missiles at Sevastopol.
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| Anadolu Ajansi news 23 June 2024 |
Moscow reaction to the Sevastapol attack
The Moscow Times quotes spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that the attack on Sevastapol will not go unpunished and that there will be consequences. This blogger thinks that the Russians DO mean what they say with something like this and it is therefore a very dangerous moment.
Al Jazeera on 24th June reported that Russia had summoned the US Ambassador Lynne Tracy to inform her that retaliatory measures for Sevastopol would definitely follow.
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| AJ 24Jun 2024 |
What next?
Radio Free Europe is a US Gov funded international media organisation. The last time that US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made a telephone call to Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov was in March 2023. Austin next called Belousov on 25 June 2024 to "emphasize the importance of maintaining lines of communication amid Russia ongoing war in Ukraine" .
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| Radio Free Europe 26June 2024 |
This blogger believes that the timing of this call, coming as it does after the Russians summoned the US ambassador to tell her that they blame USA for Sevastopol , would most likely have included some conversation about the Sevastopol attack and the proposed retaliation by Russia .
If the matter wasn't resolved during the call, then we have to suspect that the Russians will attack the USA, most likely not the mainland , but something that the Russians consider a proportionate and appropriate response . Maybe an airbase ? Romania or Cyprus - Who knows . We must wait and see.
The Duran show on Youtube.
On 28 June 2024 , Alex Christoforou and Alexander Mercouris talk about the Sevastopol incident and speculate that the phone call by Lloyd Austin was to try to de-esculate and re-assure Russians that it won't happen again.