Ukraine confirms Russian ferry 'seriously damaged' in attack on Crimea.

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A Ukrainian attack on occupied Crimea overnight resulted in a ferry used by Russian forces to transport military equipment being "seriously damaged," the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said on July 23. It did not specify what was used to carry out the attack but Russia earlier claimed its forces downed 21 Ukrainian drones over Crimea and the Black Sea early on July 23, while local Telegram channels reported explosions on the peninsula. The drones attacked the ship at the Port of Kavkaz, which lies in the Kerch Strait separating the peninsula from Russia's Krasnodar Krai, the region's governor, Veniamin Kondratyev, claimed.

According to Kondratyev, one person was killed and "there were injured" in the attack. Traffic was reportedly halted on the Kerch Bridge connecting mainland Russia with occupied Crimea, Astra reported. In a post on Telegram, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces identified the ferry as the "Slavyanin."

"The occupiers used this ferry to transport railway wagons, motor vehicles and containers for military purposes," it said. "Slavyanin is the third and last railway ferry that the Russian Federation had in the specified region." The ferry crossing, representing a key logistical connection between the occupied peninsula and mainland Russia, was hit several times in late May with Ukrainian drones and missiles.

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