Russia has blamed the United States after three people, including two children, were killed when a Ukrainian missile was shot down on a busy beach in Russian-occupied Crimea.
The victims were among nearly 120 tourists who were hit by fragments of the weapon after it exploded in the sky over Sevastopol today.
Among the deceased were two children, aged three and ten, as well as an elderly woman who was swimming in the sea at the time of impact.
Russian officials claimed they shot down five missiles in total while flying over the Crimean capital, and that the fifth munition broke into deadly debris over Uchkuevka beach.
After the attack, the Kremlin claimed that the destroyed weapons were American-made and that Washington is responsible for the deaths.
People gather around a Russian tourist who was injured by the Ukrainian missile shot down in Crimea on Sunday.
Injured tourists are treated by passers-by on a beach in Sevastopol after Sunday’s incident.
Spray flies through the air as debris from the downed missile lands on the coast of Sevastopol.
Cars parked next to Sevastopol beach were also hit by debris, breaking their windshields.
“Responsibility for a deliberate missile attack on peaceful residents of Sevastopol lies primarily with Washington, which supplied this weaponry to Ukraine,” the Russian Defense Ministry wrote on Telegram, saying Ukraine used ATACMS missiles.
A video shared on social media shows terrified Russian tourists fleeing the beach in Sevastopol, on the occupied Black Sea peninsula, at the time of the attack.
Mikhail Razvozhayev, governor of Sevastopol, said the number of injured was almost 100 and described the incident as serious.
“All available emergency medical teams have been sent there,” he said.
‘Some people have already been transferred to a hospital and all necessary assistance is being provided.
“All forces have been mobilized.”
Reports said the missiles were ATACMS operational tactical missiles supplied by the United States and equipped with cluster warheads.
Pro-war Telegram channel Two Majors said: ‘While repelling a terrorist attack by on-duty air defense forces, four US ATACMS missiles were shot down.
“Another missile, as a result of the impact of air defense systems at the final stage, deviated from the flight path and detonated the warhead in the air over the territory of the city.
“As a result of falling fragments of cluster submunitions, more than 20 civilians, including children, were injured.”
Later that day, the toll was estimated much higher.
The injured were carried from Uchkuevka beach, Sevastopol, by tourists and emergency services after today’s impact with debris from a downed Ukrainian missile.
Russians in Crimea have been flocking to Crimean beaches despite the risk of Ukrainian kamikaze drone and missile attacks.
Separate images from Sudak beach in Crimea show how people have flocked to popular summer relaxation spots despite the risk of missile attacks.
The incident comes on the same day that Russian bombs destroyed a residential block in Kharkiv, killing at least one person and wounding 10 on Sunday.
The ruined remains of an apartment are left exposed to the air after Russian missiles damaged a block of flats in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Sunday.
Ukrainians clean the streets and observe the damage caused by Russian bombs in Kharkiv on Sunday
An elderly woman who was swimming in the sea at the time of impact died on the beach in Sevastopol, according to eyewitnesses.
Sevastopol, a Black Sea port city and traditional headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet even when it was under Ukrainian rule, was annexed by Russia in 2014.
It is regularly attacked by Ukraine, but the death toll from Sunday’s attack was unusually high.
There were reports of a lack of airstrike warnings before the attack.
Hours earlier, one person was killed and three wounded in the Russian region of Belgorod, bordering Ukraine, when three Ukrainian drones attacked the town of Grayvoron, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said air defense forces shot down 33 Ukrainian drones over the western regions of Bryansk, Smolensk, Lipetsk and Tula.
A new attack in Kharkiv killed at least one person and wounded 10 on Sunday, according to local officials. Mayor Ihor Terekhov said the city was hit by a guided bomb and that around half of Kharkiv was left without power due to the attack.
Ukraine’s military has not commented on the attack, which came a day after a Russian-guided bomb attack in the city of Kharkiv hit an apartment building, killing two people and wounding more than 50.
On Sunday, Russian strikes hit a home and a children’s educational center in Kharkiv, killing one person and wounding 10, including two teenagers, regional governor Oleg Synegubov said.
Regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said 41 people were still receiving treatment for injuries on Sunday.
In a video address following Saturday’s attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Ukraine’s partners to strengthen their air defenses.
“Modern air defense systems for Ukraine, such as the Patriots, accelerated training of our pilots for the F-16 and, most importantly, sufficient range for our weapons, are really necessary,” he said.
Meanwhile, two people were injured by falling debris when two Russian missiles were shot down over the kyiv region overnight, Ukrainian air force commander Mykola Oleschuk said.
Regional Governor Vadym Filashkin of Ukraine’s partially occupied Donetsk region said Saturday’s Russian strikes killed two people and wounded four.
In other developments, the Ukrainian Navy released photographs on Sunday that it says confirm the destruction of a warehouse in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region used to launch and store Iranian-designed Shahed drones.
Navy officials said training instructors and cadets were killed in the Friday night attack. Moscow has not yet commented on the reports, but officials said air defenses shot down several drones in the region overnight on Friday.