Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on Wednesday condemned the Pentagon after it said Ukraine was permitted to strike Russian-annexed Crimea with long-range U.S. weapons, the TASS news agency reported.

Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon's press secretary, told a briefing Tuesday that Washington regarded Crimea as part of Ukraine and that Kyiv was allowed to use long-range missiles supplied by the U.S. to strike targets on the Black Sea peninsula.

Russia annexed Crimea, the headquarters of its Black Sea Fleet, in 2014.