Russian ferry attacked by Ukrainian drones in Crimean port

One person was killed and five injured when Ukrainian military drones attacked a ferry at a port in the Kerch Strait between occupied Crimea and Russia’s Krasnodar region, state media agency RIA reported on Tuesday, citing local officials.

Krasnodar Governor Veniamin Kondratiev posted on Telegram that Ukrainian drones hit the ship in the port of Caucasus, about 11 kilometers from the Kerch Bridge, a symbol of Russian occupation that has been the scene of numerous attacks during Moscow’s large-scale invasion.

Kondratiev called the attack a “terrorist attack” and wrote that “unfortunately there are injuries and deaths among the crew and port workers.” He added that a fire had broken out on the ship and was under control, but did not provide further details about the damage.

The state news agency Tass reported that all of the victims were Russian citizens. Other reports said the ferry was being used to transport equipment to Crimea.

The ferry crossing, which is an important link between the peninsula and the Russian mainland, was attacked several times by Ukrainian drones and missiles in May.

The pro-Ukrainian Telegram channel Crimean Wind reported that residents heard the sounds of explosions overnight in Dzhankoi in the north of the peninsula. Traffic on the Kerch Bridge was also reportedly disrupted, a common occurrence when that bridge is attacked. The Russian military is increasingly using ferries to transport vehicles across the Kerch Strait as railway crossings face increasing dangers and delays.

Ukraine has not commented on the allegations because they could not be independently verified. Newsweek has asked the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense for a comment.

Ukrainian Interior Minister Anton Gerashchenko posted on X about the reported attack and an interaction on a local Telegram channel. “A dialogue from a local Telegram channel: ‘Our air defense is just great!’ Yeeeees, great, apart from a railway ferry, the hit was apparently significant,” Gerashchenko wrote.

Russia said its armed forces shot down 21 Ukrainian drones over the peninsula and the wider Black Sea region early Tuesday, suggesting a targeted barrage by Kiev’s forces.

It came one day after the drone attack on the Tuapse oil refinery, also in the Krasnodar region. Ukrainian media reported that the attack was carried out by the Kyiv secret service.

Russian authorities said debris from the downed drone caused a fire at the refinery of the oil company Rosneft. It was the latest attack on Russian energy infrastructure, which is a major target of the Kiev armed forces.

Update 7/23/24, 5:00 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.