Children Among Mass Casualties After US-Supplied Missile Targets Crowded Crimean Beach

Russia on Sunday is reporting a mass casualty event in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol, and is saying that a US long-range missile was behind it.

The Russian Ministry of Health in a recent update said that five people were killed in a series of strikes from Ukraine, which injured 124 people including 27 children. Among the deceased, two were children, the ministry said. The casualty toll is likely to climb over the next hours amid the emergency response and as hospital data is reported.

Moscow is calling it a ‘terrorist missile strike’ on Sevastopol with five US-supplied ATACMS tactical missiles, carried out just after noon local time. What’s more is that Russia says they were equipped with cluster warheads, making for a bigger casualty strike zone.

Crimean officials said that in once instance a missile exploded above a crowded beach, unleashing shrapnel on people who had been relaxing there.

A separate Russian Defense Ministry (MoD) statement directly accused Washington. “Flight missions for ATACMS missiles are programmed by American specialists based on US satellite reconnaissance, making Washington primarily responsible for the deliberate missile strike on Sevastopol’s civilians,” the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) stated.