Sevastopol tragedy: Five dead, 150 injured in alleged Ukrainian attack
During a Sunday attack on Sevastopol in Crimea, occupied by Russia, five people were killed, and around 150 were injured, including 23 children, according to Russian media. The Russians accuse Ukraine of the attack.
The Ria Novosti agency, citing the advisor to the head of the Russian Ministry of Health, Alexei Kuznetsov, reported that "as a result of the Ukrainian shelling of Sevastopol, around 150 people were injured, including 27 children."
Further information provided by the agency on Telegram states that "the number of those killed after the attack (by the Ukrainian Armed Forces) on Sevastopol has risen to five, among them two children."
The governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, appointed by the Kremlin, claimed that "fragments of downed targets fell in the coastal zone." According to him, the attack affected people who were relaxing in the Uchkuyevka and Lyubymivka districts.
The Russian Ministry of Defense issued a statement claiming that five American ATACMS missiles were used in the attack on Sevastopol. Four of them were intercepted by air defence.
The Russian Ministry of Defense also stated that it is American specialists who input the flight data of ATACMS missiles based on their satellite intelligence, which means – according to their accusations – that the United States is also responsible for the attack on Sevastopol.
However, crucially, a Russian air defence fighter-interceptor strike caused one of the missiles to veer off course and explode.
Main base of the Russian fleet in Sevastopol
Sevastopol, located in the western part of the Crimean Peninsula, is the main base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. On Sunday, local occupation authorities reported the downing of five Ukrainian missiles, whose fragments fell on beaches in the Uchkuyevka and Lyubymivka districts.
Crimea, a territory belonging to Ukraine, was annexed by Russia in March 2014 as a result of military intervention and an illegal referendum. Ukraine and the West considered these actions by the Kremlin violating international law.
