Scott Ritter made a video statement posted on X on June 23, responding to the Ukrainian launch of five U.S.-supplied ATACM missiles on the major Crimean city of Sevastopol, that has left 4 people dead and injured 121 people, and the terrorist assault two cities in Dagestan, a Republic of Russia, that has left at least 20 people dead and 26 injured.
Ritter said, “I’m referring to two events, actually: The Ukrainian attack on Sevastopol, using U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles; and, the second, the terrorist attack in Dagestan that appears to have all the hallmarks of Western involvement. Let there be no doubt, there are two direct attacks against Russia, by proxies of the United States and of NATO. And it’s more than a proxy engagement, given the necessity of preparation, intelligence support, etc. This is a direct attack both by the United States, by NATO, and by non-European NATO entities: All of the parties that have made a decision in the last several days and weeks to expand the scope and scale of their participation in the Ukrainian-Russian conflict.”
“The Ukrainians made a decision to use ATACMS missiles, equipped with cluster munitions, against a city, a civilian city. This is an act of terrorism. This is in keeping with Ukrainian actions that have transpired over the past years, where Ukraine, since 2014, has been bombardiing Russian civilian sites, cities, villages, towns for the sole purpose of inflicting death and destruction…. This is an act of terrorism. And given that the ATACM missile cannot be deployed by the Ukrainians without extensive intelligence support by the United States, this is an act of terrorism by the United States against Russia.
“The same can be said about the attacks in Dagestan. These are deliberately designed to deliberately disrupt the civil life of the Russian Federation. Dagestan is part of the Russian Federation…. And it’s also designed to engender a split between the Muslim and non-Muslim segments of Russian society. This is a tactic that goes back to the First Chechen War and the Second Chechen War, where the CIA and other European intelligence agencies sought to split Chechnya from the Russian Federation.
