Russia says Ukrainian drone attack on Black Sea beach kills 7, injures 40

Russia said on Monday that a Ukrainian drone attack on Arkhipo-Osipovka beach near the Russian Black Sea resort town of Gelendzhik killed seven, including three children and injured 40 others. There was no immediate confirmation from Ukraine on the attack, but the Russian authorities have confirmed the attack in a message in Telegram. A ⁠specialist disaster medicine team ​has been dispatched to the scene.

Veniamin Kondratyev, the governor of Russia's southern Krasnodar region in a statement called the incident a tragedy: “What happened today was a deliberate attack by the Kyiv regime on the civilian population, which has no connection whatsoever to military infrastructure.” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova was cited by the ​TASS state news agency as accusing Ukraine of resorting to terrorism.

Videos circulating on social media platforms verified by multiple international outlets, including AFP and Reuters, show what appears to be a drone crashing into a busy beach at the Russian resort of Arkhipo-Osipovka, followed by an explosion on the Black Sea coast, as tourists look on from the shore and in the water.

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Open-source intelligence and reports suggest the drone may have been aimed at the major Russian naval base in Novorossiysk, located about 40 kilometres away. The crash site also sits roughly 22 kilometres from the luxury Black Sea estate frequently referred to as "Putin's Palace". The attack follows a massive explosion in an upscale Italian restaurant, Balzi Rossi, in Central Moscow. The attack resulted in the death of five people and injured 19 others. Russian Foreign Ministry explicitly accused Ukraine of the bombing. Reports suggest that it was an attempt to assassinate Colonel General Alexander Chayko, the Commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces.