Russia blames US for deadly Ukrainian attack on Crimea

MOSCOW: Russia said on Sunday the United States was responsible for a Ukrainian attack on the Russian-annexed Crimea peninsula using five US missiles that killed at least five people, including three children. At least 124 people were injured, including 27 children, five of whom are in serious condition.

The Russian Defense Ministry said four of the US-supplied Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles equipped with cluster warheads were shot down by air defense systems, and the ammunition of a fifth detonated in the air. The ministry said US specialists had determined the missiles’ flight coordinates based on information from US spy satellites, which means Washington is directly responsible. “The responsibility for the targeted missile attack on the civilian population of Sevastopol lies primarily with Washington, which supplied these weapons to Ukraine, and the Kiev regime, from whose territory this attack was carried out.”

The US began supplying Ukraine with longer-range (300km) ATACMS missiles earlier this year. Reuters could not confirm reports of combat between the two sides. Footage from Russian state television showed people running away from a beach and some being carried away on sun loungers. Russian-appointed authorities in Crimea said rocket fragments landed shortly after midday near a beach in Sevastopol where locals were vacationing.

Russia will respond to Sunday’s attack, the ministry said, without giving further details. The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin has been in “constant contact with the military” since the attack.

Neither Ukraine nor the United States has commented on the attack, which came on a day when Ukraine said one person had been killed and 10 others wounded in Russian attacks on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.