Ukrainian Drone Strike Shakes Putin’s Former Crimean Vacation Spot

Explosions were reported near the Foros sanatorium in Russian-occupied Crimea – a facility linked to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) – on the evening of Sunday, Sept. 21.

The blasts were first reported on local Telegram channels and later confirmed by Ukrainian monitoring channels.

The Russian-installed “head” of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, claimed that Ukrainian drones attacked the Foros sanatorium, killing three people and injuring about 15.

He said a school building in the village of Foros and several facilities on the sanatorium’s grounds were also damaged but did not specify which.

The Russian Defense Ministry offered different figures, stating that two civilians were killed and 15 injured. According to the ministry, the strike was carried out by drones with high-explosive warheads.

Earlier it had claimed that between 16:00 and 20:00 Moscow time, 22 Ukrainian aircraft-type drones were shot down over the Black Sea and three more over Crimea.

The Foros sanatorium has long been associated with the FSB. Russian President Vladimir Putin has vacationed there several times.

Crimea.Realii notes that between Foros and Yalta there are four state dachas frequented by Russia’s political elite, two of which according to a 2021 report by the independent Russian news outlet Proekt were reserved for Putin’s use

In August 1991, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev was held in one of these dachas by the Moscow coup plotters before returning to power when the attempted overthrow collapsed.

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A Russian report from the “Safe Region” monitoring center found no Ukrainian drones in Bryansk’s Pochep district at the time of the attack.

The pro-Ukrainian Telegram channel Crimean Wind reported the strike occurred around 7:30 pm on Sept. 21, saying “very important guests” were at the sanatorium. It noted that on the same day the Foros Hall restaurant had been closed “for special service.”

On Monday, however, Crimean Wind wrote that the Terletsky boarding house, owned by Russia’s state-run VTB bank, could have been struck.

“According to our source, the FSB has entrenched itself in the sanatorium and high-ranking officials are there. Some public sites wrote yesterday that the Terletsky boarding house was attacked. Confirmation is needed,” the channel said.

Ukraine has yet to comment on the strikes.

Meanwhile, in the early hours of Sept. 22, residents of Yeysk, Slavyansk-na-Kubani, and nearby cities in Russia’s Krasnodar Territory reported explosions and the sounds of drone flights.

Local Telegram channels said UAV debris fell on three private homes in Slavyansk-na-Kubani, damaging roofs, facades, and windows, and sparking a grass fire.

Astra reported that while local media circulated images allegedly showing a Ukrainian drone missile hitting one of the private homes, the wreckage more likely belonged to the upper stage of a Russian Pantsir-S1 missile.

Regional authorities confirmed the attacks and said emergency measures were underway.

This news story might be updated as more information becomes available.