Ukrainian Missile Sets Fuel-Laden Ferry On Fire At Key Russian Port

A large fire has been spotted raging in southern Russia’s Krasnodar region on the Black Sea, following reports that a Ukrainian missile struck a railway ferry transporting fuel tanks.

“The Kyiv regime carried out another terrorist attack on the territory of the Krasnodar region,” Russian authorities announced on social media. “A railway ferry carrying fuel tanks to Port Kavkaz was hit.”

Smoke and fire could be seen for miles issuing forth from Port Kavkaz, which is one of Russia’s largest, as it sits at a rail and ferry hub connecting Russia with the Crimean peninsula.

Port Kavkaz is also a major oil terminal, and for that reason along with being a central logistics hub has come under somewhat frequent missile and drone attack throughout the war.

“Moments ago, a Ukrainian Navy Neptune cruise missile successfully struck a Russian ferry carrying fuel tankers in the Kavkaz port, near Kerch,” a war monitor wrote on X. “A series of explosions have ripped through the port area.”

Video showing the initial moments after missile impact:

https://t.co/uYtX4cCydG

The first moments following the impact, captured from nearby. pic.twitter.com/0MHYuqAZRM

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) August 22, 2024

Another war monitor, Clash Report, has detailed that the missile hit the Russian ferry “Conro Trader” with fuel tanks aboard in the port of Kavkaz.

At the moment of impact the ferry went up in flames, with the explosion reaching several stories high, videos of the attack show.

Ukraine has been desperate to change the battlefield narrative given it is still steadily losing ground in the Donbass. It is seeking to do this by launching frequent attacks on Russian territory and sensitive locations.

A fresh CNN report meanwhile confirms that Ukraine forces are on the retreat from eastern front lines:

“The enemy is advancing faster than expected,” Tretiak said in a radio interview on Tuesday. “So we are trying to do as much as possible to evacuate people by the end of the week.”

While Pokrovsk is not a major city – about 60,000 people lived there before the war and many have left since the start of the full-scale invasion – it serves as a key hub for the Ukrainian military thanks to its easy access to Kostiantynivka, another military center.

🇷🇺🇺🇦 As a result of the hit, the ferry sank in the waters of the port of Kavkaz, the operational headquarters of Kuban reported.

It is also reported that there are no fires on the territory of the port itself.

3/ pic.twitter.com/jUAK61PdeV

— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) August 22, 2024

The attacks on key Russian energy facilities, ports, and even airfields have become an almost daily occurrence at this point. Kiev is hoping that it will force Moscow to pull manpower from the frontlines, but that doesn’t appear to have occurred on any large scale just yet.