Civilian Toll Rises in Russia-Ukraine Long-Range Strikes

A drone exploded on a crowded Black Sea beach in southern Russia, killing seven people and injuring dozens, as Moscow and Kyiv traded long-range strikes that are increasingly reaching civilians far from the front lines.

Russian officials said the blast hit the resort town of Gelendzhik in the Krasnodar region on Monday. Video shared on social media and verified by NBC News showed holidaygoers in turquoise water moments before the drone slammed into white sand and burst into flames. Veniamin Kondratyev, the Krasnodar regional governor, said three children were among the dead and 58 people were injured.

“What happened today was a deliberate strike by the Kyiv regime against the civilian population — people who have absolutely no connection to military infrastructure,” Kondratyev said on Telegram. “There can be no justification for such a cynical and inhumane terrorist act targeting children.”

Ukraine did not confirm responsibility for the beach incident, but it did not deny it. Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council’s Centre for Countering Disinformation, said Russian air defenses were to blame for where the drone landed.

“Russian air defense shot down a drone onto people lying on the beach,” Kovalenko said. “It was Putin who killed these Russians. Had he not started the war and the strikes on Ukraine, they would be alive.”

Kovalenko also accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of creating an “illusion of peace” inside Russia that left civilians complacent. “Had they acknowledged the war on their own territory, people would have reacted more actively to the alert, which in some places in Russia is not even announced,” he said.

The Gelendzhik blast came amid a broader Ukrainian campaign of strikes inside Russia targeting shipping vessels, oil sites, warehouses and ammunition depots. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Kyiv has used cheaply manufactured drones to pressure Moscow, with some reaching targets and others intercepted.

On Tuesday, a Ukrainian drone struck a warehouse in the Moscow region, killing five people and injuring 10, regional Governor Andrei Vorobyov said, according to Al Jazeera. It was one of three overnight warehouse attacks across Russia. Drones also hit a warehouse belonging to e-commerce company Wildberries in the Tver region, northwest of Moscow, and another Wildberries site near St. Petersburg, where the company said a fire broke out. A separate attack also hit a warehouse in Leningrad region, Governor Aleksandr Drozdenko said.

Kyiv alleges that Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer, supports Moscow’s war effort by supplying dual-use items. Al Jazeera reported that the company banned smartphones on Monday to stop employees from sharing images or video that Ukrainian authorities could use to analyze Russian air defenses, allowing only phones without cameras.

The Syzran Oil Refinery in Russia’s Samara region was also attacked, triggering a fire.

Russia has continued deadly strikes on Ukraine. Ukrainian officials said Russian missile, drone and bomb attacks killed at least 377 people in July, the highest monthly figure since April 2022. Overnight strikes killed two children and an elderly woman in the Sumy region, the regional administration said Tuesday. Two people were also killed in Zaporizhzhia, regional chief Ivan Fedorov said, a day after he said one person was killed when Russia dropped eight powerful glide bombs. Al Jazeera also reported that an elderly woman was killed in an overnight attack on Mykolaiv, near the Black Sea, and that Russia’s state-run RIA news agency said Russian forces struck seven cargo vessels in the city’s port.

Shipping has become another flashpoint. Turkey called on both sides to improve navigational safety after a Turkish-owned vessel was hit, injuring people onboard. Al Jazeera reported that three people were seriously wounded in a drone attack on a Turkish cargo ship in Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk and that all 22 crew members were evacuated. India issued similar calls last month after its nationals were killed in attacks on crew members.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday he planned to pressure Putin to end the war before winter, while cautioning that the goal might not be achievable and accusing Putin of trying to “continue dragging out” the conflict.