Russia's Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol after being targeted with missiles on September 22, 2023 (social media)

The United States and the United Kingdom, in cooperation with other Western countries, were involved in the recent Ukrainian attack on Sevastopol using NATO spy hardware, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.

Last week, Ukraine launched missile strikes on Sevastopol targeting the Russian Black Sea Fleet headquarters, while the city's Russian authorities cautioned that it could still be the target of more Ukrainian attacks.

Kiev had reportedly used long-range Storm Shadow missiles, which were earlier supplied by the United Kingdom and France, aiming to enable Ukraine to target deep inside Russian territory, despite Moscow's continued warnings that this might result in a direct clash between its forces and NATO.

"On September 22, Sevastopol was again under attack, and there is not the slightest doubt that the attack was pre-planned using Western intelligence assets, NATO satellite equipment, and reconnaissance aircraft and was carried out at the instigation and in close coordination with the US and UK intelligence services," Zakharova told reporters.

In another attack earlier this month, Ukraine launched ten cruise missiles toward the Sevastopol shipyard, causing damage to two ships belonging to the Black Sea Fleet that were undergoing repairs, according to Russia's Defense Ministry, adding that seven of the missiles were shot down by Russian air defenses.

But Western involvement in the war has recently increased to unseen levels.

The United States announced earlier that it will be delivering Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to Ukraine in the upcoming weeks, a system with a range of 70 to 300 km.