Strikes on Black Sea resort, Crimea leave 6 dead

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Ukrainian strikes on a Russian resort village and Moscow-annexed Crimea — two summer destinations popular among Russian tourists — killed six people, local officials said Monday.

Three people were killed in the village of Arkhipo-Osipovka, on the Black Sea coast, “due to falling UAV (drone) debris,” the governor of the Krasnodar region, Venyamin Kondratyev, said on Telegram.

“Another 13 people, including children, were wounded,” Kondratyev said, adding that “the attack targeted civilian infrastructure.”

Ukraine often fires hundreds of drones into Russia each night, in retaliation for Russia launching hundreds of its own drones and dozens of missiles at Ukrainian towns and cities.

Moscow began its full-scale offensive against Ukraine in February 2022, and has regularly struck its neighbor, including from the Crimean peninsula.

Ukraine has in recent months intensified its counter-strikes on Crimea — seized by Moscow in 2014 — leading to electricity and fuel shortages this summer.

A Ukrainian strike there overnight killed three civilians, the Moscow-installed governor Sergey Aksyonov said in a post on Telegram.

He did not say where exactly the attack took place and did not provide details about the victims.