MOSCOW – Russia has reported a harrowing incident, asserting that a deliberate drone strike by Ukraine on the Black Sea resort town of Gelendzhik resulted in the deaths of six individuals, among them three children, while approximately 40 others sustained injuries.
In a conflict where both parties, Russia and Ukraine, maintain that civilian targets are not part of their strategy, Ukraine has yet to issue an official response to the accusations stemming from the country’s ongoing full-scale war initiated by Moscow in 2022.
Verified social media footage paints a stark picture, capturing the moment a drone strikes a bustling beachfront in Gelendzhik, accompanied by a deafening explosion. These videos have been authenticated by Reuters, offering a glimpse into the chaos.
Veniamin Kondratyev, the governor overseeing Russia’s southern Krasnodar region where Gelendzhik lies, described the devastating event as a tragedy. He reported that 17 individuals had been transported to hospitals for treatment.
“Today’s attack represents a targeted assault by the Kyiv regime on civilians completely unrelated to any military installations,” declared Kondratyev in a statement posted to Telegram. The governor’s remarks underscore the gravity with which Russian authorities view this incident.
A specialist medical disaster team had been dispatched to the scene of the explosion at the holiday village of Arkhipo-Osipovka, part of the wider Gelendzhik resort area, local authorities said.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was cited by the TASS state news agency as accusing Ukraine of resorting to terrorism.
Russia last month accused Kyiv’s forces of killing 11 people, including four children, in an attack on a holiday camp in a Russian-held part of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region.
Russia itself has repeatedly struck targets in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, displacing millions and laying waste to swathes of Ukraine. Thousands of civilians have so far died in the war, most of them Ukrainians killed in Russian attacks.
Ukraine has stepped up long-range attacks deep into Russia in recent months, mainly targeting oil refineries and e-commerce warehouses, in what it says is a campaign to make Russians feel the cost of the war.