On the night of July 23, Ukrainian Defense Forces conducted a long-range strike on a ferry crossing over the Kerch Strait. Reports from local residents indicate the attack was targeting Port Kavkaz on the russian side of the strait, this strategically important bottleneck of russian military logistics in Crimea.
The Governor of Krasnodar Krai, Veniamin Kondratiev, confirmed the attack, noting that explosive drones struck a ferry vessel, causing a fire. He reported one fatality and five injuries among the crew and port employees. The name of this ship is not specified. Update: the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces later confirmed that the Slavyanin freight ferry was severely damaged as a result of this attack, the last ferry in the region that'd remained unscathed until now. The rest of the article was preserved as initially published.
Read more: Ferry Crossings Over Kerch Strait: Throughput and Importance of this russian Logistics Vein in Crimea
With this statement, the russian official risks being punished for "discrediting the russian armed forces" because the Ministry of Defense of the russian federation, which claimed that their forces thwarted the Ukrainian attack, destroying all 21 drones approaching from Crimea and the Black Sea.
Moreover, the incident took place near the Kerch Bridge, which supposedly is protected by "impenetrable" air defenses for which the Kremlin had allocated a huge amount of money and anti-aircraft equipment.
This attack marks the second time Ukrainian long-range strikes have targeted a ferry at the Kerch Strait. In May and June 2024, two train ferries were successfully struck, as confirmed by the report of Ukraine's General Staff, photos of local residents and satellite imagery of the site.
The vessels in question are the Conroe Trader and the Avangard, the only two roll-on/roll-off train ferries operating on the Kerch Strait crossing. The Conroe Trader sustained damage to the side of its hull, while the Avangard suffered minor damage to its deck. However, a photo showed the ship rolled, indicating its partial sinking.
On June 21, russian authorities reported that the consequences of the Ukrainian attack on the Avangard ferry had been eliminated. As it turned out, a hole had been pried open in the engine room, leading to a loss of buoyancy.
So it took three weeks just to restore the ship to a condition suitable for its towing to the Kerch Shipyard for proper repairs. This detail raises the question of whether Ukraine used a specialized anti-ship missile for this strike.
Following these attacks, the Conroe Trader remains the only operational train ferry and the most likely target of the July 23rd attack (which turned out to not be the case). However, there is speculation that one of the five car ferries — either among the large ones, Lavrentiy, Panagia, Maria, or smaller Kerchenskiy-2, Yeysk — could also have been targeted.
Worth noting, the russian federation uses the ferry crossing over the Kerch Strait to transfer military cargo, making these vessels are legitimate targets for Ukrainian forces.
Read more: Are russian Landing Ships a Legitimate Targets for Destruction Despite the Kremlin's Declaration of 'Civilian Transportation'?
