News Feed, Ukraine, Krasnodar Krai, Vessels, Crimea

Satellite image shows destroyed ferry at Russia's Kavkaz port following attack

by Kateryna Denisova and The Kyiv Independent news desk August 23, 2024 3:07 PM 2 min read

The footage purporting to show a burning ferry in the Kavkaz port in Russia's Krasnodar Krai on Aug. 23, 2024. (Astra/Telegram)

This audio is created with AI assistance

Satellite images published on Aug. 23 show a ferry destroyed by a Ukrainian attack on the Kavkaz port in Russia's Krasnodar Krai on the previous day.

The images were obtained by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Schemes investigative project.

Ukraine's navy on Aug. 23 confirmed the sinking of a Russian ferry called the Conro Trader at the Kavkaz port in Russia's Krasnodar Krai following the strike.

The Kavkaz port, located on the Chushka Spit in the Kerch Strait, is one of Russia's largest passenger ports. Its main task is to serve the Kerch ferry crossing in Russian-occupied Crimea.

The satellite image, recorded by the Earth imaging company Planet Labs on Aug. 23, showed the destroyed ferry and several small vessels nearby "that may have been damaged," Schemes said.

According to the photo, a part of the railroad track leading to the water was also damaged.

#Satellite imagery by @planet from August 23, available to Schemes (@cxemu), shows the destroyed ferry and several small vessels nearby that could also have been damaged by the strike on the #Kavkaz port in the Krasnodar Territory of the Russian Federation. pic.twitter.com/A9liA4MYe0
— Kyrylo Ovsianyi (@KOvsianyi) August 23, 2024

The Crimean Wind Telegram channel on Aug. 22 published photos and videos showing smoke rising over the Taman Peninsula in Krasnodar Krai.

Soon after the attack, the ferry in a Russian port sank, local Russian authorities reported, adding there were 30 fuel tankers onboard at the moment of the strike. The work of the Kerch ferry crossing was halted, according to the Russian Transport Ministry.

Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine has regularly launched attacks on occupied Crimea as well as neighboring Krasnodar Krai. Kyiv has struck ferry crossings between occupied Crimea and Russia's Krasnodar Krai several times.

Ukraine's military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said in early August that Ukraine is working on a "complex solution" that could destroy the illegally constructed Kerch Bridge in the coming months.

Authors: Kateryna Denisova, The Kyiv Independent news desk

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