(PORT KAVKAZ, RUSSIA) – Ukrainian drone strikes have destroyed two Russian ferries at Port Kavkaz, near the Kerch Bridge, in an attack that dealt a significant blow to Moscow’s logistical operations supplying occupied Crimea.
Video footage circulating on social media shows four fires burning near the port, with at least two vessels clearly engulfed in flames. The ferries identified as the Elena A and Panagia were both hit, with a possible third ferry also on fire and a thick plume of smoke rising from what is believed to be the port’s oil storage facility. The attack occurred in the Kerch Strait, the same area where Russia previously lost two ferries in earlier Ukrainian strikes.
According to open source intelligence, the two vessels were not originally operating in the Black Sea. They had previously served between the Greek mainland and the island of Salamina before being sold to a Russian company. The sale of these transport vessels by a European nation to Russia has drawn criticism, given their subsequent use in resupplying Russian forces in the war against Ukraine.
The destruction of the ferries is significant for Ukraine’s ongoing campaign to isolate occupied Crimea, as Russia relies on such vessels to transport supplies across the Kerch Strait. The Kerch Bridge, which also connects Crimea to the Russian mainland, has been a recurring target for Ukrainian forces, and the proximity of this strike to the bridge underscores Kyiv’s ability to threaten critical Russian infrastructure in the region.
Video from the scene also showed a Russian serviceman successfully intercepting a drone with small arms fire, an uncommon occurrence given the typical effectiveness of Ukrainian drone operations.
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