REVISES HEADLINE, SPOT & LEDE; ADDS FURTHER REMARKS BY RUSSIAN AUTHORITIES; EDITS THROUGHOUT
By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) - Russia said on Sunday that at least three people were killed and over 120 injured due to a Ukrainian missile attack in the city of Sevastopol in Crimea, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014.
"According to operational data, as a result of the shelling of Sevastopol, ... 124 people, including 27 children, were injured in varying degrees of severity," Russian Deputy Health Minister Alexey Kuznetsov told reporters in Moscow.
In earlier statements, Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol, said on Telegram that the death toll due to the attack rose from two to three, while those injured, which had reached almost 100, are being provided with all necessary medical care.
Claiming that five missiles were shot down, he further said fragments from the downed missiles fell in the coastal parts of the city, namely Uchkuyevka and Lyubimivka.
He also said fires occurred in a residential building and forested area in the city due to fallen fragments.
Russia's Investigative Committee announced that it opened a criminal case to establish the "circumstances of the incident and the persons involved in the terrorist attack, whose actions will be given a legal assessment."
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed in subsequent statements that air defenses downed four ATACMS missiles "equipped with cluster warheads."
Indicating that another missile deviated from its flight path and detonated over Sevastopol, the statement further claimed that "all flight missions for the American ATACMS operational-tactical missiles are entered by American specialists based on US satellite reconnaissance data."
"Therefore, responsibility for the deliberate missile attack on civilians in Sevastopol lies primarily with Washington, which supplied these weapons to Ukraine, as well as the Kyiv regime, from whose territory this attack was launched," it said, adding: "Such actions will not go unanswered."
Ukrainian authorities have not yet commented on the incident or Russia’s claims.