By MOSCOW — A Russian ferry loaded with fuel tankers was attacked and sunk at the port of Kavkaz near annexed Crimea on Thursday, in what Russian officials are calling a Ukrainian missile strike. The incident marks a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict in the Black Sea region.
Fyodor Babenkov, district head of the nearby town of Temryuk, confirmed that the ferry was carrying 30 fuel tanks when it sustained significant damage, resulting in a fire and subsequent sinking. The Russian state news agency TASS reported that all port employees were evacuated, but the status of the ferry’s crew remains unclear.
According to unofficial Telegram news channel Baza, 15 people were on board the ship and are currently missing. However, this information has not been independently verified. Governor Veniamin Kondratyev of the Krasnodar region, where the port is located, stated that search and rescue operations are ongoing, with four crew members who went overboard already rescued.
The port of Kavkaz, situated in the Kerch Strait separating Russia from Crimea, is one of Russia’s largest outlets on the Black Sea. It plays a crucial role in handling ships for exports and fuel supplies to Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
Visual evidence of the attack has been widely shared on social media and by Russian media outlets, showing a massive fire and plumes of black smoke rising from the stricken vessel. A local task force reported that a special train, including more than 100 personnel, was dispatched to tackle the blaze.
Ukrainian officials have not immediately commented on the incident. However, Daria Zarivna, a communications advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, posted a cryptic message on Telegram, describing the scene as “Beautiful” and attaching a photo of the large fire at the port.
Earlier on Thursday, during an event for army veterans, President Zelensky appeared to call for increased attacks on Russian territory, stating, “In order to throw the occupier out of our land, we have to create as many problems as possible for the Russian state on its territory.”
This attack is part of a broader pattern of Ukrainian strikes on Crimea and Russian naval assets in the Black Sea since the full-scale military offensive began in February 2022. The strikes have prompted Russia to relocate its Black Sea Fleet from its historic base at Sevastopol to Novorossiisk on the Russian mainland.
The incident at the port of Kavkaz coincides with reports of a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow and other Russian regions. The Russian Ministry of Defence claims to have destroyed 45 Ukrainian drones overnight, with 11 downed over the Moscow region and others intercepted over Bryansk, Belgorod, Kaluga, and Kursk.
