A Ukrainian drone attack damaged two vessels, two piers and sparked a fire in a village on the Black Sea coast in Russia’s Krasnodar region, regional authorities said on 22 December.
The damage led to a fire spreading up to 1,500 square metres (1,794 square yards), said authorities. By 0200 GMT the fire was still raging. All crew on the ships at the Volna terminal on the Black Sea have been safely evacuated, the Krasnodar region’s operational headquarters said on the Telegram messaging app.
Ukraine has often struck the Krasnodar region with drones, targeting refineries, fuel depots, ports and airfields. The Black Sea region is vital for Russia’s energy exports and military logistics, bordering Crimea and lying within drone range of southern Ukraine.
A few days previous, Ukraine reported striking a Russian “shadow fleet” oil tanker with aerial drones in the Mediterranean Sea on 19 December, marking the first such attack in that area since Russia’s full-scale invasion nearly four years ago. The strike reportedly caused critical damage to the vessel and coincided with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annual end-of-year press conference.
Separately, Ukrainian overnight drone attacks on 18 December hit the Russian port of Rostov-on-Don and the nearby town of Bataysk, killing three people.