Russia reported on Monday that six people, including three children, were killed and approximately 40 injured in a drone attack at its Black Sea holiday resort of Gelendzhik. Russian officials described the incident as a deliberate Ukrainian strike targeting civilians.
Veniamin Kondratyev, the governor of the Krasnodar region where Gelendzhik is located, stated that the attack occurred near the holiday village of Arkhipo-Osipovka. He characterized the event as a tragedy and a "deliberate attack by the Kyiv regime on the civilian population, which has no connection whatsoever to military infrastructure."
Social media videos, verified by Reuters, appeared to show a drone striking a crowded beach area near Gelendzhik, followed by a significant explosion. Local authorities confirmed that a specialist medical disaster team was dispatched to the scene. Kondratyev added that 17 injured individuals were transported to the hospital.
Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for Russia's Foreign Ministry, was cited by the TASS news agency as accusing Ukraine of resorting to terrorism. This follows an accusation by Russia last month that Ukrainian forces killed 11 people, including four children, in an attack on a holiday camp in a Russian-occupied part of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region.
Ukraine has not issued an immediate comment on the incident. Both Russia and Ukraine maintain that they do not deliberately target civilians in the ongoing conflict, which Russia launched in 2022. Thousands of civilians have died in the war, predominantly Ukrainians killed in Russian attacks. In recent months, Ukraine has increased its long-range attacks deep into Russia, targeting sites such as oil refineries and warehouses, which it states is a campaign to make Russians feel the consequences of the war.