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Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
Preliminary reports indicate that Ukraine struck a ferry crossing in the city of Kerch in occupied Crimea overnight on Aug. 16, as well as a boat near the community of Chernomorsk in Russia's Krasnodar Krai, Serhii Bratchuk, spokesperson for the Odesa Oblast Military Administration said.
No information was immediately available as to the extent of the damage. It was not immediately clear what boat was struck or whether it was a military target.
Explosions rang out across multiple cities in occupied Crimea overnight on Aug. 16, the Crimean Wind Telegram channel claimed, citing resident reports. A fire was reported near the city of Kerch, in the area of the Kerch ferry crossing.
Residents in Sevastopol, Simferopol, and Kerch heard explosions around 3:30 a.m. local time, according to local media reports.
Multiple explosions were also reported in the community of Chernomorsk in Russia's neighbouring region Krasnodar Krai around 4:30 a.m. local time.
The Kerch bridge, connecting occupied Crimea with mainland Russia, was reportedly closed to traffic around 2 a.m., local residents reported. The bridge reopened around 7 a.m. local time.
Russia's Defense Ministry claimed that five Ukrainian unmanned aerial drones and two unmanned naval drones were destroyed overnight in the Black Sea.
The Kyiv Independent cannot independently verify any of the claims.
Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine has regularly launched attacks on occupied Crimea as well as neighbouring Krasnodar Krai.
Kyiv's Military Intelligence Chief Kyrylo Budanov warned on Aug. 2 that Ukraine is working on a "complex solution" that could destroy the Kerch Bridge in the coming months. Russia reportedly began fortifying the bridge last month.
Ukraine has regularly struck ferry crossings between occupied Crimea and Russia's Krasnodar Krai, prioritizing the crossing over the bridge in recent months as a more important military target.
Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk said in an interview with RBC-Ukraine published on June 17 that destroying the Kerch Bridge now would not have the same effect now because Russia barely uses it for military purposes anymore.
The bridge accounts for less than a quarter of the total transiting cargo, and for the rest, Russia uses a ferry crossing in Kerch, Pletenchuk said.
Kateryna Hodunova
