Footage from a Sputnik correspondent from Russia's Makhachkala. Automatic shotgun firing sounds are heard

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Sevastopol attack a desperate response to Russian president’s peace initiative

Lebanese expert Samir Ayoub, specializing in Russian affairs, said that the Ukrainian attack on Sevastopol could be seen as a response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's peace initiative and an attempt to recover from battlefield losses.

“This terrorist act shows that the support of the US and Europe for the Kiev regime, and their justification of its actions, encourages it to commit such attacks,” Ayoub told Sputnik. “It’s not just an assault but a reply to the Russian president's peace offers, as well as compensation for the defeats inflicted by the Russian army on the Ukrainians in battles.”

According to Ayoub, Russia’s response to this attack might include strikes “on sensitive targets and decision-making centers in Kiev” and an “expansion of Russian control over territories to create a security buffer around Russian cities.”

Discussing potential developments, Ayoub suggested that events could lead to a “return to negotiations based on Russian proposals,” and if escalation continues, Ukraine might disintegrate as a state.

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Crimes in Russia's Derbent and Makhachkala are an attempt to weaken the consolidation of society in a multinational republic, said the head of the government of Dagestan.

He promised that whatever forces were behind these heinous acts would be punished with the utmost severity.

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❗️The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Republic of Dagestan reports the liquidation of four militants in Makhachkala.

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❗️ Unknown gunmen opened fire at a police vehicle on a town square in the village of Sergokala in the Russian Republic of Dagestan, the press service of the Dagestan Interior Ministry reported.

One officer was wounded, according to preliminary information.

The town is 65 kilometers south of the city of Makhachkala, where today's terrorist attack took place.

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❗️ As clashes with militants continue in Russia's city of Derbent, the head of the police department of Dagestan was seriously wounded after arriving to provide assistance, the republic's Interior Ministry said.

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The head of the Dagestan Ogni police department, who arrived to provide assistance in Derbent and was seriously wounded, has died, the Dagestan Interior Ministry reported.

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The head of Russian Dagestan's Sergokala district, Magomed Omarov, whose sons may have been involved in the terrorist attacks, is being interrogated, a source in the republic's law enforcement agencies told Sputnik.

"Magomed Omarov has been detained and is under interrogation; according to preliminary information his sons were among the militants who carried out the terrorist attacks," the source said.

A Sputnik source in the republic's leadership said Omarov would be removed from his position.

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A synagogue was also attacked in Russia's city of Makhachkala, as was one in Derbent, Jewish religious organizations told Sputnik.

No injuries have been reported in the terrorist attack on the synagogue in Makhachkala, the city's rabbi said.

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The total number of people injured after a Ukrainian missile attack on the Russian city of Sevastopol has increased to 151, with 82 of them remaining hospitalized, the city's governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said.

Previously it was reported that 144 people suffered injuries of varying severity, with 82 of them hospitalized (55 adults and 27 children). Four people have died.

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❗️ Two gunmen were neutralized in Russia’s city of Derbent, the National Anti-Terrorist Committee (NAC) reported.

The active phase of the counter-terrorist operation in Derbent is over, the agency said.

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16 people were hospitalized after a shootout with terrorists in Russia’s Makhachkala, including 13 police officers and three civilians, the Dagestan Interior Ministry reported.

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Victims of the shooting in Russia’s city of Makhachkala have gone through surgeries and are under constant medical care, Mayor Yusup Umavov said, citing the chief physician of the Republican Clinical Hospital.

He added that he visited the hospital, where he met with head doctor Gaziyavdibir Musaev.

The mayor stressed that the attack is a great tragedy for the city and all of the Russian Republic of Dagestan, claiming the crime is aimed at destabilizing the region.

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At least six gunmen have been killed in Russia's Republic of Dagestan, Russian law enforcement agencies told Sputnik.

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The US Defense Department is aware of reports Ukrainian armed forces used ATACMS missiles in an attack on Russia's Sevastopol that killed civilians but has nothing to say on the matter, a Pentagon spokesperson told Sputnik.

"We have seen the reports and have nothing to say," the spokesperson said.

Earlier in the day, the Ukrainian armed forces attacked Sevastopol, the largest city in the Crimean peninsula, using US-made ATACMS missiles with cluster warheads, four of which were shot down and one deflected and exploded over the city. Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said that four people had been killed and 151 others had been injured in the attack, including children.

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What's known so far about the terrorist attacks in the Russian Republic of Dagestan:

◻️ Five gunmen were neutralized in Dagestan (two in Derbent and three in Makhachkala) during the antiterrorist operation, the National Anti-Terrorist Committee (NAC) reported

◻️ The number of law enforcement officers killed in the terrorist attacks in Dagestan has risen to 7, a source in law enforcement told Sputnik

◻️ The active phase of the counter-terrorist operation in Derbent has been completed

◻️ 13 police officers and three civilians have been hospitalized in Makhachkala

◻️ Victims of the shooting in Russia’s city of Makhachkala have undergone surgery and are under constant medical care, city Mayor Yusup Umavov said

◻️ Entertainment events in Makhachkala are cancelled until further notice

◻️ The head of Dagestan Sergey Melikov is holding a meeting of the operative staff in connection with terrorist attacks in the republic

The territory of the Dagestan Republic is 50.3 thousand square kilometers or 19.4 thousand square miles. Dagestan borders Russia’s Stavropol Region and Russia’s Kalmykia Republic in the north, Russia’s Chechen Republic and Georgia in the west, and Azerbaijan in the south. The southernmost point of Russia is located in Dagestan, on the border with Azerbaijan.

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