Ukraine hits train ferry at Kavkaz port in Krasnodar Krai, Russia claims
Editor's note: This is a developing story.
Ukraine attacked a train ferry carrying fuel tanks at the Kavkaz port in Russia's Krasnodar Krai on Aug. 22, the Krasnodar Krai authorities claimed.
The Kavkaz port, located on the Chushka Spit in the Kerch Strait, is one of Russia's largest passenger ports. Its main task is to serve the Kerch ferry crossing in Russian-occupied Crimea.
The Crimean Wind Telegram channel published photos and videos showing smoke rising over the Taman Peninsula in Krasnodar Krai, which can be seen near the Kerch Bridge in Crimea.
Soon after the attack, the ferry in a Russian port sank, according to the local authorities. There were reportedly 30 fuel tankers onboard at the moment of the strike.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify Russia's claims. The Ukrainian military has not commented on the reports.
Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine has regularly launched attacks on occupied Crimea as well as neighboring Krasnodar Krai. Kyiv has struck ferry crossings between occupied Crimea and Russia's Krasnodar Krai several times.
Ukraine's military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said in early August that Ukraine is working on a "complex solution" that could destroy the illegally constructed Kerch Bridge in the coming months.
Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk said in June that destroying the Kerch Bridge now would not have the same effect 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.
