KYIV (Reuters) – Ukraine’s navy confirmed on Friday it had destroyed a ferry in the Russian port of Kavkaz used to supply fuel and weapons to occupied Crimea.
Local authorities had previously said the ferry was set on fire and damaged in Thursday’s attack on the port in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region.
“Another undoubted military target has been destroyed. The purpose was to provide fuel to the invaders. The ferry sank and this port (Kavkaz) is not usable until the ferry is removed,” navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk told Ukrainian television.
“It was the ferries that accounted for three-quarters of all logistics and were the main channel (of supply),” he added.
The ferry was carrying 30 fuel tanks, said Fyodor Babenkov, district head of the city of Temryuk, which includes the port. He said it sustained significant damage as a result of the attack, Kiev’s latest attack on Russian territory as Moscow’s war in Ukraine continues.
The port of Kavkaz is one of Russia’s largest outlets on the Black Sea. It handles ships both for export and for the supply of fuel to Crimea, which was seized by Russian forces in 2014.
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Editing by Christina Fincher and Timothy Heritage)