MOSCOW: A Ukrainian aerial attack has sunk a Russian cargo ferry carrying fuel tanks at the southern Kavkaz port in Russia’s Krasnodar region on Thursday, Russian officials said, further intensifying the ongoing conflict between the two nations.
The regional operational headquarters reported on Telegram that the ferry, which was transporting fuel tanks, sank following the attack. Emergency services were promptly dispatched to the site, but the extent of the damage and the exact number of casualties remain unclear.
Images circulated on social media show a large fire and thick smoke rising from the port area. The Kavkaz port, located in the Kerch Strait, is strategically positioned near the annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, which has been a frequent target of Ukrainian strikes throughout the conflict.
The Ukrainian government has not officially claimed responsibility for the attack, but officials in Kyiv have hinted at their involvement. Daria Zarivna, a communications advisor to President Volodymyr Zelensky, posted a photo of the fire at the port on Telegram with a single word: “Beautiful.” This cryptic message was interpreted as an indication of approval for the attack.
During a separate event earlier on Thursday, President Zelensky urged his forces to intensify their attacks on Russian territory. “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,” Zelensky said.
Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported that five persons on the ferry at the time of the attack were unaccounted for. The specific weaponry used in the attack has not been disclosed by Russian authorities.
This incident is part of a broader pattern of Ukrainian strikes targeting Russian infrastructure and military assets. Earlier in the conflict, Ukraine’s attacks on Russian vessels in the Black Sea led Russia to relocate its Black Sea Fleet from Sevastopol in Crimea to Novorossiisk on the Russian mainland.
The conflict, which has now spanned over two and a half years, continues to see escalating attacks and counterattacks as both sides vie for strategic advantage.
