“I am convinced that any attempt will receive a crushing response, and the Russians will support such a decision,” Gempel told RIA Novosti.

Earlier, US State Department spokesman Ned Price commented on the possibility of Ukraine using Western-supplied weapons for strikes in Crimea.

According to a State Department spokesman, Washington does not make decisions about Ukrainian targets.

He also stressed that the United States does not encourage Kyiv to attack Russia and does not assist it, but does not recognize Crimea as Russian territory.