(Moscow) The United States blamed “responsibility” for a Ukrainian strike on Sunday that killed four people and wounded more than a hundred others in Crimea, saying it was carried out by US ATACMS missiles supplied to Kyiv. .
“Responsibility for the deliberate missile attack against civilians in Sevastopol (a city in Crimea, editor’s note) rests primarily with Washington, which supplied Ukraine with these weapons, and with the authorities in Kiev,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a press release.
“Such actions will not go unanswered,” he added.
According to the Russian military, five ATACMS missiles were launched by Ukrainian forces, four of which were “intercepted”.
The Russian Ministry promised to justify its allegations that the flights of these missiles were “captured by American experts based on the data of the satellite intelligence services of the United States.”
In April, Washington announced the deployment of long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine, which it had long requested could strike further behind the front lines.
Neither Ukraine nor the US has yet commented on the Sevastopol strike.
Attack on the “coastal area”.
The ballistic missile attack killed four people, including two children, according to revised figures announced by Moscow-installed governor Mikhail Razvojev.
He first mentioned five deaths.
A total of 151 people required medical treatment and 82 were hospitalized, he said on his Telegram channel.
The official said President Vladimir Putin called the families “to express his condolences”.
He previously said that the Ukrainian military “attacked Sevastopol in broad daylight with ballistic missiles with cluster munitions.” According to him, the “debris” of the downed missiles “fell in coastal areas”.
Videos released by Russian media show beach residents fleeing after hearing the explosions. AFP could not verify its authenticity.
The major port city of Sevastopol is often targeted, especially as it is home to the headquarters of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea.
Crimea is an important logistical hub for the Russian military.
Having faced Russian aggression for two years, Ukraine continues to retaliate by attacking Russian territories or occupied territories.
His troops specifically try to destroy Russian warships, and consistently succeed.
“Turn up the pressure”
Meanwhile, Russian attacks in Ukraine’s second city of Kharkiv on Sunday left one person dead and ten others, including two youths, wounded, regional governor Oleg Synekopov said.
Photo by Sergey Bobok, Agence France-Presse
Residents react near a residential building destroyed by a Russian bomb in central Kharkiv on June 22
Earlier in the day, other attacks using guided aerial bombs had already killed two people and wounded fifty, according to Ukrainian officials.
Kharkiv, which is closest to the Russian border, is frequently bombed. Russia still denies targeting civilian targets in Ukraine and vows to attack only military-related structures.
The city is partially without electricity and its metro is “suspended,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said, calling for the resupply of air defense systems.
Earlier, he said his forces shot down two more Russian Kalibr missiles. “Russian terrorism has not subsided, so we must increase the pressure,” he warned.
“We have a commitment to destroy terrorists on their soil – and that’s justifiable – and we need our allies to share that,” he said.
In late May, Washington accepted that the Ukrainians would use US weapons in some cases to attack military targets on Russian territory near the region.
The decision followed Russia’s surprise ground offensive in early May in Kharkiv, where fighting has remained violent.
On Russian soil, Governor Vyacheslav Kladkov said on Sunday that one person was killed and three others were injured in Ukrainian drone strikes in the town of Gravoron in the Russian border region of Belgorod.
The Belgorod region has been the target of Ukrainian attacks, which Kiev says is defending itself against Russian attacks on its own territory.
