Russian authorities are accusing Ukraine of carrying out a deliberate attack on civilians after an overnight strike on a holiday camp killed 11 people, including four children, in a Russian-controlled portion of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region.
Ukraine did not immediately respond when asked to comment on the allegations.
Both nations have consistently denied intentionally targeting civilians throughout the conflict, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The Russian-appointed governor of the region, Yevgeny Balitsky, reported that an additional 16 people were injured in the strike. The attack hit the resort area of Kyrylivka, a coastal destination along the Azov Sea near the city of Melitopol.
Writing on the Telegram messaging platform, Balitsky stated, “The enemy saw and understood who it was targeting.”
In a separate development, Ukraine announced Saturday that its drone forces had struck a Russian oil platform located in the Caspian Sea as well as an oil refinery in Siberia. Both targets sit well beyond Ukrainian borders — one more than 700 kilometers away and the other more than 2,000 kilometers away — highlighting how far Kyiv’s long-range drone campaign has extended in its effort to weaken Russia’s war machine and push the Kremlin toward peace talks.
Ukraine’s SBU security service said the Caspian strike targeted the Filanovsky oil platform, which belongs to Russian energy company Lukoil and is part of Russia’s largest oil field in the Caspian region. Lukoil did not respond to a request for comment. Local officials in the Siberian region of Tyumen confirmed a Ukrainian drone sparked a fire at their regional refinery, though they did not say whether oil production had been affected.
In the Caspian Sea, Ukrainian drones also struck two cargo ships — identified as the Port Olya 2 and the Begey — which Ukraine’s SBU said were believed to be transporting military goods between Russia and Iran. Russia’s transport ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Russia and Iran have grown closer militarily since the 2022 invasion, with Western governments and Ukraine saying Tehran has provided drones and drone technology that Russia has deployed extensively in the war.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told members of Congress this week that Russia and China were backing Iran against the United States in ways he declined to specify. President Donald Trump, however, said he trusted both countries not to assist Iran.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that its own drones struck a bulk carrier vessel in the Black Sea that it said was delivering military supplies to the Ukrainian army. In a separate daily briefing, the ministry said it had also hit Ukrainian logistics hubs, drone manufacturing and storage facilities, and energy, transportation, and port infrastructure, without providing additional specifics.
