Ukraine Strikes Kerch Rail Hub, Russian Vessels as Moscow Rushes to Protect Tankers

Ukraine struck a railway hub in occupied Kerch and targeted several Russian tankers in the Black Sea overnight, according to Ukrainian monitoring channels.

The overnight drone attack, reported by the Ukrainian monitoring project Krymskiy Veter, triggered multiple fires near the railway station in Kerch, eastern Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014.

Around 1 a.m., local residents reported a series of explosions followed by a large fire near the station, located close to the Crimean Bridge. Satellite imagery later detected multiple hotspots in the area.

According to preliminary reports, warehouses, railway infrastructure, and possibly the Kerch oil depot caught fire. Unconfirmed reports also suggested that the nearby Kerchenskaya electrical substation was hit.

The Ukrainian monitoring channel Exilenova+ published footage purportedly showing drones flying over Kerch. NASA’s FIRMS satellite fire-monitoring system also detected a fire near the railway station, which Ukrainian sources said has become a critical logistics hub after repeated Ukrainian strikes disrupted rail infrastructure elsewhere in occupied Crimea.

Separately, Ukrainian monitoring project Supernova reported that Ukrainian drones struck six Russian tankers in the Black Sea overnight.

The reported attacks come a day after Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) said they had struck 147 Russian maritime vessels operating in the Black and Azov Seas between July 6 and July 16.

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State emergency responders provided psychological support to 16 residents, including four children following the attack.

Ukrainian drones also reportedly targeted a pumping station and the 110/35/6 kV Koktebel electrical substation near the village of Koktebel in occupied Crimea, where a fire was reported.

Earlier this week, authorities in northern Crimea introduced daily mobile internet restrictions in Dzhankoi following repeated drone and missile attacks that disrupted power infrastructure.

Eastern Crimea’s city of Kerch experienced widespread blackouts on Wednesday following a new wave of Ukrainian strikes.

The outages come as Crimea’s 2.3 million residents, along with tourists visiting the peninsula’s resort-heavy southern coast, continue to face severe fuel shortages caused by weeks of Ukrainian drone attacks on fuel depots and disruptions to tanker and cargo deliveries from mainland Russia.

Ukrainian forces have increasingly shifted their focus to Crimea’s energy infrastructure, targeting key electricity transmission nodes. 

One of the primary targets has been the Simferopol Combined Cycle Thermal Power Plant, also known as the Tavriyska (Tavria) Thermal Power Plant, a major gas-fired facility that was hit in at least three confirmed drone strikes between June 20 and June 25.

Russian-installed officials, including Sevastopol occupation governor Mikhail Razvozhaev, acknowledged that power outages have affected several cities across Crimea. 

On Tuesday, Razvozhaev announced that a “special operating regime” had been introduced at energy facilities but did not provide details about what the measure entails.

Meanwhile, the Atesh partisan movement, citing a source within Russia’s Black Sea Fleet headquarters, claimed Moscow is rushing additional troops and specialized units to protect oil tankers and gas carriers operating in the Black and Azov Seas.

According to the group, Russia plans to deploy personnel from the Rubicon UAV Center, the 51st Air Defense Division, and the 1096th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment aboard commercial vessels. Each tanker is expected to carry up to three servicemen equipped with twin machine guns, portable air-defense systems (MANPADS), and anti-drone weapons.

Atesh said the move reflects growing concern over repeated Ukrainian strikes on Russia’s “shadow fleet” used to evade international sanctions and transport fuel to military facilities in occupied territories.

“The reason for the command’s panic is obvious,” the group said. “In just 10 days, Ukraine’s Defense Forces imposed ‘physical sanctions’ on more than 136 Russian tankers operating illegally in Ukraine’s exclusive economic zone.”

The claims made by Ukrainian monitoring channels and the Atesh partisan movement have not been independently verified, and Russian authorities had not officially commented at the time of publication.