Fireball Fury: Suspected Ukrainian Missile Strike Near Crimea Engulfs Russian Ferry in Massive Blaze

A Russian ferry, loaded with fuel tankers, erupted in a massive explosion after an alleged Ukrainian missile strike, sending smoke and flames soaring into the sky near the port of Kavkaz, close to Crimea.

The dramatic incident, captured in images and videos circulating online, occurred as tensions between Russia and Ukraine continue to escalate.

Russian officials quickly pointed the finger at Ukraine, accusing it of sinking the ferry in the southern Russian port.

Fyodor Babenkov, head of the Temryuk district that includes the port, confirmed that the ferry was carrying 30 fuel tanks at the time of the attack, which caused a fire and inflicted significant damage. The exact number of casualties is still under assessment.

Unofficial reports from the Telegram news channel Baza suggest that 15 people were on board the ferry and are now missing. Ukraine has yet to officially comment on the incident.

According to the Russian state news agency TASS, all port employees were evacuated safely. A local task force dispatched a special firefighting train with over 100 personnel to the scene. Despite the intensity of the blaze, TASS reported that the fire did not spread to other parts of the port.

The port of Kavkaz, a major Russian outlet on the Black Sea, plays a critical role in both exports and fuel supplies to Crimea. Governor Veniamin Kondratyev of the Krasnodar region, where the port is located, confirmed the strike, stating, "A railroad ferry carrying fuel was hit in the port of Kavkaz. As a result of the hit and the fire, the vessel sank,” The Sun reported.

The attack is the latest in a series of strikes targeting Crimea, a crucial logistical and military hub for Russia since it was annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Ukrainian officials, while not directly claiming responsibility, made cryptic remarks following the incident.

Daria Zarivna, a communications advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, posted a photo of the fire on Telegram with the caption, "Beautiful."

Earlier in the day, President Zelensky appeared to urge his forces to intensify their attacks on Russian territory, stating, "In order to throw the occupier out of our land, we have to create as many problems as possible for the Russian state on its territory."

Russian authorities have not disclosed what type of weapon was used in the strike. Governor Kondratyev reported that search and rescue operations were ongoing for the crew, with four individuals already rescued after going overboard.

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This incident adds to the growing list of Ukrainian attacks on Russian vessels in the Black Sea during the ongoing conflict. A series of earlier strikes prompted Russia to relocate its Black Sea Fleet from Sevastopol in Crimea to Novorossiisk on the Russian mainland.

The attack on the ferry follows Ukraine's largest-ever drone assault on Moscow, part of a broader campaign to strike deep into Russian territory. The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed to have destroyed 45 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 11 over Moscow, 23 over Bryansk, six over Belgorod, three over Kaluga and two over Kursk.

In a separate operation, a Ukrainian MiG fighter jet reportedly launched a devastating attack on a secret Russian command bunker, using a French-supplied AASM guided bomb. Footage of the strike shows the bomb tearing through the bunker’s roof, resulting in a massive explosion.