Russia says six killed and 40 injured by Ukrainian drone hitting busy beach

A Russian governor says six people, including three children, have been killed by a Ukrainian drone on a busy beach in south-west Russia

It's not clear if the drone was intercepted before landing on the beach. It has been reported it may have been targeting a Russian naval base around 25 miles (40 km) away - BBC Verify has looked at the footage

Elsewhere, an apparent Ukrainian drone strike hit a warehouse belonging to Wildberries, around 112 miles east of Moscow

Wildberries is Russia's biggest online retailer and has been repeatedly hit by Ukraine in recent weeks

The strike came after more deadly Russian missile attacks on Kyiv on Saturday, with at least nine people killed

Alexandra Prokopenko from the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center told BBC Verify that Ukraine’s other strikes on energy infrastructure will have a far greater impact on the Russian economy, “but they don't generate public outrage the way a burning delivery warehouse does”.

“Nobody has yet calculated” how many individuals and small businesses have been affected by the Wildberries strikes and “some say openly that bankruptcy and production shutdowns are inevitable,” she says.

Russia says it has struck four Ukrainian cargo ships across both the Black Sea and port of Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine.

Its ministry of defence says unmanned drones struck two cargo ships in Mykolaiv that it claims were "unloading military cargo".It adds a further two ships were struck in the Black Sea that were "carrying military cargo".

There has been no acknowledgement of the attacks from Ukraine.

Kyiv also claims the warehouses are helping to supply the Russian military. The Kremlin has denied these claims.

Emily Ferris from the Royal United Services Institute told BBC Verify that although Wildberries “mostly sells consumer goods” some of its products, like sports gear, uniforms, thermal-imaging cameras and electronic components “can be used on the front line to supply troops”.

“Preventing their further distribution would technically disrupt military supply chains as well,” she said.

Post a Comment

Previous Post Next Post