Janice R. Andrews
According to local authorities, during a Ukrainian strike on Sevastopol, a city in Russian-occupied Crimea, missile fragments distributed over beachgoers, resulting in at least five fatalities and over 100 injuries.
“Sadly, as of right now, we have 124 victims, of which two are adult deaths and three are child deaths,” Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev posted on Telegram.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, “US-supplied ATACMS operational-tactical missiles equipped with cluster warheads” were used by Ukraine to carry out the attack, as reported on Telegram. Four missiles were intercepted by Russian air defenses, but the force of the air defense caused another missile to veer off course, exploding its warhead above the city.
The aftermath is shown in a video that was uploaded to the social media platform X. It shows injured bystanders being put into cars and transported from the beach on stretchers. Numerous beachgoers were observed fleeing the area in fear while still wearing their swimsuits.
Sofia Averyanov, age nine, was one among the victims. She is the daughter of Oleg Averyanov, the deputy mayor of Magadan. Mayor of Magadan Yuri Grishan verified that Sofia was in Sevastopol on vacation with her parents when the catastrophe occurred.
Governor Razvozhayev pointed out that the high casualty rate was caused in part by the strike’s timing, which happened when civilians were either on their way back from work or were already at the beach with their families. He also announced a day of mourning in reaction to the unfortunate incident.
Many were upset over the lack of alert in the comment sections of official posts after eyewitnesses on the ground said that no air raid siren alerted them to the impending attack.
The Russian Ministry of Defense has promised that “such actions will not go unanswered,” blaming the missile delivery to Washington. The Russian government’s primary priority is to help the victims, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov noted, adding that President Vladimir Putin is in regular communication with Sevastopol officials.
Many expressed dissatisfaction in the official postings’ comment sections as ground-level witnesses claimed they were not informed of the approaching attack by an air raid siren.
“Such actions will not go unanswered,” the Russian Ministry of Defense has vowed, citing the missile delivery to Washington. Helping the victims is the Russian government’s first concern, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, adding that President Vladimir Putin speaks with Sevastopol officials on a regular basis.
