Three people, including two children, died in the shelling, with more than 100 injured, the authorities have said.
The Ukrainian military has launched several US-made ATACMS long-range missiles armed with highly controversial cluster munitions on Russia’s Crimea, resulting in numerous civilian casualties, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said.
The strike was first reported by Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev on Sunday, who said that the attack killed at least three people, including two children. According to Russia’s Health Ministry, 124 people were injured, including 27 children.
?????BREAKING: An American ATACMS missile launched deliberately at a civilian beach in Crimea kills children and injures hundreds of people.
?Seriously WTF!? pic.twitter.com/GVMdnmtOdF
— Aussie Cossack (@aussiecossack) June 23, 2024
A three-year-old and nine-year-old girl, as well as an adult, were killed, and nearly 100 people injured in today’s US/Ukraine missile attack on a beach in Crimea.
According to the military, the shelling was carried out from the territory of Ukraine with US ATACMS ballistic… pic.twitter.com/bIOrC6x4sq
— ?ℎ???????? (@chiIIum) June 23, 2024
The Russian Defense Ministry has confirmed the Ukrainian attack, which it said took place at around noon local time. Officials said that the shelling involved five ATACMS missiles, four of which were destroyed mid-air.
The remaining one, however, was damaged by air defenses, veered off course and detonated over the city of Sevastopol. As a result, the falling fragments of cluster munitions led to numerous civilian casualties, the statement read.
⚡️????BEACHGOERS PERFORM FRANTIC CPR ON LIFELESS WOMAN AFTER U.S. MISSILES MURDER KIDS
(left vid): Wounded lie right on sand as people rush to give injured 1st aid (top right pic) after Kiev’s beach massacre on Crimea’s Sevastopol kills 2 children and 1 adult.
American… pic.twitter.com/SbnwqUwsx9
— ????? ? (@SMO_VZ) June 23, 2024
Сluster munitions – which scatter dozens of smaller bombs when denotated – are banned in more than 100 countries, including the UK, France, and Germany. This type of weapon is considered extremely dangerous to civilians, as the munitions typically spread over large areas and can remain unexploded in the ground for many years.
Neither the US, Ukraine, nor Russia has signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions. However, in the summer 2023 then-Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said that Moscow would not deploy this type of weapon against Kiev for humanitarian reasons. He warned, however, that Russia might potentially reverse this policy.
The US announced in July 2023 that it would provide Ukraine with cluster munitions, sparking outrage in Moscow. At the time, US President Joe Biden called the decision “very difficult” but justified, arguing that the deliveries were needed to fuel a Ukrainian counteroffensive that subsequently failed with heavy losses for Kiev.
Ukraine has previously attempted to target the peninsula with ATACMS missiles, with one of the most notable attacks taking place in late May. Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov said that a total of ten ATACMS aimed at the strategic Crimean Bridge were shot down, saving hundreds of lives.
