Ukraine shot down a ferry with drones, killing one person and injuring four others, in a port on the Kerch Strait that separates mainland Russia from heavily guarded Crimea, Russian regional authorities said on Tuesday. .

The four injured, two of whom are in serious condition, were taken to hospital, authorities in Krasnodar, in southwestern Russia, said.

The general staff of the Ukrainian army said, for its part, that its navy “caused significant damage to the enemy cargo ship Slavianin”, which was “used to transport goods of military use”.

According to the Russian news agency TASS, the attack was carried out by drones that hit the port, 12 kilometers from the Crimean bridge, the iconic Russian project that has already been targeted several times by Ukraine.

The ship was in the port of the Caucasus, in the Kerch Strait, which connects mainland Russia and the Crimean peninsula, annexed in 2014 to the Russian Federation, by ferry. Goods pass through this port.

According to Russian media, ferry travel to Crimea had been suspended following the costly construction of the bridge connecting the peninsula to Russia. The dispute resumed after a truck bomb that destroyed that project in 2022, an attack attributed to Ukraine.

The Crimean bridge, which spans the Kerch Strait, was also attacked by Ukrainian navy drones in July 2023, causing significant damage and the death of two civilians.

Although the bridge was heavily used at the start of the conflict by the Russian military to transport equipment to soldiers fighting in Ukraine, threats to that infrastructure have prompted authorities to develop other logistics channels.

Despite facing difficulties on the front, Ukraine has had many successes in the Black Sea, repeatedly hitting Russian ports or ships and notably sinking the cruiser Moskva in April 2022.