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Russian authorities reported that a Ukrainian drone struck a crowded beach near Gelendzhik in the Krasnodar region on Monday, killing seven people including three children and wounding 40 others. Krasnodar governor Veniamin Kondratyev put the injury toll at 40 and said 17 people had been hospitalized, although CNN cited local officials as reporting 21 hospitalizations. Kondratyev accused Ukraine of carrying out a deliberate attack on civilians, according to statements carried by Reuters and other outlets.
The BBC verified social media video that captured the moment the drone sped toward a cliff before exploding in a fireball on the beach while tourists stood in the water and on shore. Russian media quoted several eyewitnesses who described hearing gunfire similar to a machine gun just before the blast, an indication that air defense systems might have fired on the incoming drone. No warning sirens alerted beachgoers in the area around Arkhipo-Osipovka, local residents and visitors told reporters.
One holidaymaker said, “We covered ourselves with sun loungers, and didn’t see where it exploded.” Another recounted the sound of “gunfire, like a machine gun” followed by the explosion. A third witness told local media, “This all happened in front of my children. My child is having a nervous breakdown.”
The resort area has served as a key domestic tourism destination for Russians since sanctions curtailed overseas travel, a shift noted across multiple reporting outlets. Ukraine has not commented on the beach strike, Reuters reported. Officials from both countries have repeatedly stated that they avoid intentional civilian targeting in the conflict that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Ukrainian long-range strikes have grown more frequent and effective over the past year, frequently focusing on energy infrastructure and warehouses that Kyiv claims support military logistics. The weekend prior to the beach incident saw eight civilian deaths from such attacks in various Russian cities, according to compiled reports. A separate drone strike hit a warehouse facility near St Petersburg on Tuesday, St Petersburg governor Alexander Drozdenko said.
Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities have caused thousands of civilian casualties since 2022. At least nine people died in a Saturday missile attack on Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. A strike on Kryvyi Rih the week before killed an entire family of 10, Zelensky added.
