Two civilians killed in Crimea missile attack – governor

At least two Russian civilians have been killed by a Ukrainian missile attack on Crimea, the region’s governor, Sergey Aksyonov, said on Thursday evening. 

About 20 explosions were reported in the vicinity of Simferopol around 10:30pm local time, presumably attributed to cluster munitions carried by US-supplied long-range ATACMS missiles.

“As a result of a missile attack by the enemy on the peninsula in the Simferopol region, two bystanders were killed,” Aksyonov wrote on his Telegram channel, expressing condolences to the families and friends of the victims.

The governor added that an “empty commercial property” near the city of Alushta was struck and that emergency personnel have been deployed to the scene.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Friday morning that a total of three ATACMS missiles were intercepted over Crimea overnight, but did not comment on the reported damage and casualties on the ground. Russian naval aircraft and coastal patrols also destroyed three Ukrainian unmanned boats in the Black Sea, officials added.

Simferopol is the capital of Crimea, which voted to rejoin Russia in 2014, after the US-backed coup in Kiev. Alushta is located on the southern coast of the peninsula, northeast of Yalta.