Russia blames US for Ukraine deadly attack on Crimea, says ATACMS used
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A Ukrainian missile assault on Crimea killed five people, including two children, and injured over 119, according to officials.
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First responders and civilians help victims of a Ukrainian strike. (Undated, Sputnik)
Russia's Defense Ministry has held Washington responsible for Ukraine's deadly attack on Crimea, which it says was carried out by US missiles.
"The responsibility for a deliberate missile strike on peaceful residents of Sevastopol is primarily carried by Washington, which supplied this weaponry to Ukraine," the Ministry stated on Telegram, adding that Ukraine utilized ATACMS missiles.
A Ukrainian missile assault on Crimea killed five people, including two children, and injured over 119, according to officials. Fragments struck beachgoers in Sevastopol after at least one missile was intercepted by air defenses and detonated in the sky.
A Russian Health Ministry spokesperson informed the RIA Novosti news agency that 124 people were hurt, including 27 children.
Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev also reported that shrapnel struck coastal regions and set fire to a home and forest.
Social media videos show people fleeing the beach after the blasts, with some carrying stretchers.
Missile Attack on Sevastopol: 5 Children in Critical Condition
— Russian Market (@runews) June 23, 2024
A missile strike by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on a Crimean beach in Sevastopol has left 27 children injured, with 5 in critical condition as doctors fight to save their lives. In total, 124 people were wounded in the… https://t.co/e7RtIhXCx7 pic.twitter.com/O6Vjg0H7YK
According to ChP Sevastopol, a local Telegram news station, an elderly woman was killed while swimming in the water.
The investigating committee announced launching an inquiry into the "terrorist act".
According to a Russian Defense Ministry statement, Ukraine carried out a "terrorist attack on the civilian infrastructure of Sevastopol with US-supplied ATACMS tactical missiles loaded with cluster warheads."
The Ministry reported that 4 missiles were downed while a fifth reversed course after being intercepted "with its warhead exploding in the air over the city."
Ukraine also launched a drone on Russia's southern Belgorod area on Sunday, killing a man, according to Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.
Gladkov wrote on Telegram: "A peaceful civilian was killed. The man died from his wounds at the spot."
In a social media post, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky encouraged supporting nations to assist Ukraine in increasing its strikes on Russian land.
According to Zelensky, "We have enough determination to destroy terrorists on their territory – it is only fair -- and we need the same determination from our partners. We can stop Russia."
Russian air defenses shot down 114 Ukrainian drones overnight: MoD
Russia's air defenses shot down 114 Ukrainian drones overnight, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed on Friday.
In a statement, the Ministry said that an attempt by Kiev "to carry out a terrorist attack using unmanned boats and aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles against targets on the territory of the Russian Federation was stopped."
"Russian anti-aerial defense systems intercepted and destroyed 70 drones over Crimea and the Black Sea, 43 drones over the Krasnodar region and one drone over Volgograd," it indicated in a statement.
The Russian Defense Ministry added that the naval aviation of the Russian Black Sea Fleet destroyed six unmanned boats of the Ukrainian Navy in the northwestern part of the Black Sea.
This comes as several Western countries, including the United States, recently gave Ukraine the green light to strike targets inside Russia, a move Moscow has called a grave miscalculation.
President Joe Biden told ABC News that US-supplied weapons are "authorized to be used in proximity to the border when they're being used on the other side of the border to attack specific targets in Ukraine."
"We're not authorizing strikes 200 miles into Russia and we're not authorizing strikes on Moscow, on the Kremlin," he claimed.
Germany also said it had permitted Ukraine to fire German-delivered weapons at targets in Russia.
