Russia accuses the United States of bearing its share of “responsibility” for the deadly strike

Russia accused the United States on Sunday of bearing its share of “responsibility” for the Ukrainian strike that killed four people and injured more than a hundred others in the annexed Crimean peninsula, because it was carried out using US ATACMS missiles supplied to Kiev. .

“Responsibility for the deliberate missile strike against civilians in Sevastopol [ville de Crimée, NDLR] The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that “responsibility lies primarily with Washington, which supplied Ukraine with these weapons,” as well as with the authorities in Kiev.

He added that such actions will not go unanswered.

According to the Russian military, Ukrainian forces sent five ATACMS missiles, four of which were “intercepted.”

The Russian Ministry confirmed that the flight missions of these missiles “were controlled by American specialists on the basis of data from American satellite intelligence services,” to justify its accusations.

In April, Washington announced it had sent long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine, which it had long requested so they could strike more behind the front line.

Neither Ukraine nor the United States have yet commented on the Sevastopol strike.

Attack on a “coastal area”

The ballistic missile attack killed four people, including two children, according to a revised toll announced by Moscow Governor Mikhail Razvoev.

He initially reported five deaths.

A total of 151 people required medical treatment, and 82 were taken to hospital, he said on his Telegram channel.

The official said President Vladimir Putin called the families “to offer his condolences.”

He previously said that the Ukrainian army “bombed Sevastopol in broad daylight with ballistic missiles with cluster munitions.” According to him, the “debris” of the missiles that were shot down “fell on the coastal areas.”

Video clips published by Russian media showed residents on the beach fleeing when they heard explosions. Agence France-Presse was unable to verify the authenticity of these images.

Sevastopol, a large port city, is often targeted, especially as it is home to the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

The Crimean Peninsula constitutes an important logistical node for the Russian army.

Ukraine, which has faced Russian attack for two years, regularly responds by attacking Russian or occupied territories.

His forces particularly attempt to destroy Russian warships, and regularly succeed.

“increased pressure”

At the same time, Russian strikes left one person dead and ten wounded, including teenagers, on Sunday in Kharkiv (the second Ukrainian city), according to the region’s governor, Oleg Sinigubov.

The previous day, further attacks using guided aerial bombs killed two people and injured about fifty others, according to Ukrainian authorities.

Kharkiv, very close to the Russian border, is regularly bombed. Russia still denies targeting civilian targets in Ukraine, and stresses that it only attacks structures linked to the army.

President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that the city was partly without electricity and that the subway was “stopped”, and again requested the delivery of air defense systems.

Earlier, he said that his forces shot down two other Russian Kalibr missiles. “Russian terrorism is not slowing down, so we must increase the pressure,” he said.

“We have the resolve to destroy terrorists on their own soil — that is fair — and we need to share ours with our allies,” he said.

At the end of May, Washington accepted that the Ukrainians would use American weapons to strike, in some cases, military targets on Russian territory near this region.

This decision followed Russia's launch of a surprise ground offensive in early May in the Kharkiv region, where fighting remains intense.

Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian territory killed one person and injured three others in the town of Grayvoron in the Russian border region of Belgorod, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Sunday.

The Belgorod region is regularly subjected to Ukrainian strikes, as Kiev claims it is defending itself against Russian attacks on its territory.