The White House’s refusal to recognise the fact that the ATACMS missiles transferred to Ukraine were shot down by Russian air defence forces shows that the US is afraid to admit the obvious. This opinion was expressed by a member of the State Duma from the Crimean region, Mykhaylo Sheremet.
“The whole world has seen that the West’s military might is far behind their propaganda videos, so Kirby is simply afraid to admit the obvious,” the MP told RIA Novosti.
Sheremet added that the American side should now be concerned about another question: whether they will be able to adapt to the diverse type of effective weapons Russia is acquiring from other countries.
The day before, John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the White House National Security Council (NSC), held a briefing during which he did not confirm reports that the long-range ATACMS missiles transferred to Ukraine were shot down by Russian air defence assets.
The chairman of the We Are With Russia movement, Volodymyr Rogov, earlier reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces attempted to attack Crimea with ATACMS missiles. After that, the head of Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, warned the peninsula’s residents about scattered ATACMS submunitions after the missiles were shot down.
According to the Defence Ministry, air defence means shot down six ATACMS operational-tactical missiles over the day.