On Sunday, Russia claimed that the US was to blame for the Ukrainian missile attack on its seized Crimea, which resulted in the deaths of four people—two of them were children—and more than a hundred injuries.
According to Russian-appointed officials, a missile detonated above a Sevastopol beach, spraying shrapnel at those lounging there.
According to Russia’s ministry of defense, Washington and Kiev were “responsible for a deliberate missile strike on peaceful residents,” using ATACMS missiles that were provided by the US.
In a Telegram video, Sevastopol governor Mikhail Razvozhayev first declared that the attack had left approximately 120 people wounded and three adults and children dead.
He later revised the toll to four dead and 151 people requiring medical care, of whom 82 had been hospitalised.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had called to “offer his condolences”, Razvozhayev added.
Despite being seized by Russia in 2014, the Crimean Peninsula’s Black Sea port city and naval station is still recognized by the international community as being a part of Ukraine.
Although Ukraine frequently launches attacks on Sevastopol, the strike on Sunday was exceptionally lethal. According to Razvozhayev, the attack took place near Uchkuyevka, which has hotels and sandy beaches.
Social media videos showed people in swimwear carrying a stretcher and people fleeing the beach as explosions occurred. AFP was unable to confirm their legitimacy.
Witnesses claimed that an old woman was killed while swimming in the sea, according to a local news station on Telegram called ChP Sevastopol.
In April, Washington announced that it had given Kyiv longer-range ATACMS missile systems. Kyiv has long asked allies for weaponry that would enable it to attack Russia beyond the front lines.
Regarding the Sevastopol strike, neither the US nor the Ukraine had made any comments.
