Ukraine sank a Russian ferry carrying fuel tanks in an aerial attack on a southern Russian port Kavkaz next to the annexed Crimean peninsula on Thursday, August 22, Russian officials reported, initially describing it as an "attempted terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime."
Kyiv has heavily targeted Crimea -- a key logistics and military hub for Moscow -- since Russia launched its full-scale military offensive in February 2022.
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"A railroad ferry carrying fuel was hit in the port of Kavkaz," the Russian governor of the Krasnodar region, where the port is located, said in a post on Telegram.
Local authorities deployed a fire train and 34 pieces of equipment to contain the blaze. The ferry, reportedly carrying 30 fuel tanks, was targeted by what is believed to be a Neptune missile launched from the Odesa region, although some sources suggest a Storm Shadow missile may have been used.
Preliminary reports indicated that five individuals were aboard the ferry during the attack, but their status remains uncertain. Conflicting reports have arisen, with some sources suggesting that the fate of up to 15 crew members is unknown.
However, the governor of Krasnodar Territory, Veniamin Kondratiev, later announced that 17 crew members had been rescued, with search efforts ongoing for two others.
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The first reports of the shelling came from Russian and Ukrainian telegram channels, where eyewitnesses shared photos and videos of the fire.
Various Telegram channels initially suggested that the ferry hit was the "Aquatrader," loaded with railway fuel tanks, while others pointed to the "Konro Trader" vessel, which serves the route between Kerch and Kavkaz.
Neither the Ukrainian nor Russian military has officially commented on the attack. However, after reports that the ferry sank, Andriy Ermak, the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, posted an emoji of the ferry and a red cross on his Telegram channel.
According to sources from Ukrainska Pravda within the Ukrainian Defense Forces, the Naval Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces conducted the attack on the ferry at the port of Kavkaz, possibly using the Neptune missile.
This attack follows a series of incidents targeting the port of Kavkaz. In July, Ukrainian drones struck another ferry, resulting in one death and several injuries, and in May, a rocket attack on the port damaged an oil terminal.
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