Russia says 5 killed, 29 injured in Ukrainian drone attacks on Crimea, Krasnodar

Russia on Sunday said that at least five people were killed and 29 others were injured in overnight Ukrainian drone attacks on the Crimean Peninsula and the Krasnodar region.

“Unfortunately, there have been civilian casualties as a result of the enemy drone attack on the Kerch Peninsula. Current information indicates four people have been killed and 28 injured,” Sergey Aksyonov, the Russian-installed governor of Crimea, wrote on Telegram.

Aksyonov further announced that fuel stations across the peninsula, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014, suspended sales to the public.

“Fuel will only be dispensed to state services that ensure the vital activities and security of the Republic of Crimea,” he added.

Meanwhile, the operational headquarters of Russia’s southern Krasnodar region announced that a person was killed and another injured after a Ukrainian drone struck a ferry crossing the Kerch Strait, which separates Crimea and mainland Russia.

It said a fire broke out at an oil terminal in the settlement of Chushka, later declaring that ferry services across the Kerch Strait will be temporarily suspended.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that its air defense systems intercepted and destroyed 239 Ukrainian drones over eight regions, as well as over the Sea of Azov, the Black Sea, and Crimea.

In a statement, Ukraine’s General Staff said that it struck an oil terminal in Kerch, causing a subsequent fire, and described the facility as “one of the key facilities for transshipment and storage of fuel and lubricant materials in Crimea.”

Arguing that the facility is used to “meet the needs” of Russian forces, the statement also said that Ukrainian strikes caused a fire at Port Kavkaz in the Krasnodar region, describing it as an “important logistics hub.”

“Last night, our long-range sanctions targeted the occupiers’ military logistics, oil industry, and air defense. All of this is a just response to Russia’s brutal attacks against our people,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on US social media company X.

Zelenskyy went on to say that facilities on both sides of the Kerch Bridge were hit, including maritime logistics used to transport oil in the Krasnodar region and an oil depot in Kerch.

Independent verification of claims is difficult due to the ongoing conflict.