MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Ukrainian drones attacked a ferry at a port in southern Russia, just across the Moscow-annexed Crimean peninsula, killing at least one and injuring five, local authorities said Tuesday.

The port is in the Kerch Strait, 12 kilometers from the Kerch bridge, which connects Russia to Crimea. Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

“Drones attacked a ferry vessel in the port of Kavkaz,” Krasnador governor Veniamin Kondratyev said in a post on Telegram.

“Unfortunately there are injured and dead among the crew and port staff,” he added.

The state-run TASS news agency said one person died and five were injured, citing local authorities.

Kyiv has targeted the area since Moscow launched its military offensive in Ukraine in February 2022.

Ukraine has destroyed and damaged several Russian military ships in the Black Sea, but successful attacks as far east as Kerch, which is heavily protected by Russian defenses, are rarer.

The peninsula is a key military hub and supply route for the Russian army.

Meanwhile, Russia downed 25 Ukrainian drones overnight in the west of the country and over Crimea, Moscow’s defense ministry said Tuesday.

“Over the past night... air defense systems on duty intercepted and destroyed two UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) over Bryansk region and two over Belgorod region, as well as 21 UAVs over the territory of the Republic of Crimea and the waters of the Black Sea,” the ministry said in a Telegram post.