Russian authorities say the U.S. is responsible for a deadly Ukrainian attack on the Crimean Peninsula on Sunday.
At least four people died, including two children, and about 150 were injured after they were hit by falling debris from missiles that were shot down by air defense systems.
The Russian Defense Ministry said four Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles, which the U.S. supplied to Ukraine, were equipped with cluster warheads. The missiles were shot down by air defense systems, the ministry said, while a fifth missile was detonated midair.
Reuters reported that Russian state television aired footage of the catastrophe, which showed some people running from a beach and others being carried off on sun loungers.
This view shows the Russian Defense Ministry headquarters in Moscow on May 14, 2024. (ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images)
Authorities in Crimea, who were put in place by Russia, said fragments from the missiles fell near a beach in Sevastopol just after noon.
The defense ministry accused U.S. specialists of setting up the flight coordinates for the missiles on the basis of information acquired from U.S. spy satellites, pointing the finger at Washington officials for being responsible.
“Responsibility for the deliberate missile attack on the civilians of Sevastopol is borne above all by Washington, which supplied these weapons to Ukraine, and by the Kyiv regime, from whose territory this strike was carried out,” the ministry said, according to Reuters.
Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and considers the peninsula its own territory.
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People relax on a beach on the Black Sea in Sevastopol, the largest city on the Crimean Peninsula and Russia’s most important port and naval base. (OLGA MALTSEVA/AFP via Getty Images)
Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Moscow-installed governor of the city of Sevastopol, said 151 people were wounded in the incident.
Ria Novosti, a Russian state-owned news agency, reported that 82 of the 151 people were hospitalized, including 55 adults and 27 children.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Pentagon for a statement on Russia’s claims.
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All public events in Sevastopol were canceled on Monday after Razvozhayev declared a day of mourning.
Earlier this year, the U.S. started supplying Ukraine with ATACMS missiles, giving the country the ability to strike targets within a 186-mile range.
Reuters contributed to this report.
