Friday, June 5, 2026 10:42:56 PM

Three ships reportedly caught fire at the port of Taganrog, located in Russia’s Krasnodar region, according to social media reports. Local authorities have so far remained silent about the incident, instead focusing on a separate drone attack on Sochi and Tuapse reported hours later. This raises questions about whether drones were truly able to strike targets on the Azov Sea coast-and what route they may have taken to get there.

News of the alleged strike on ships in Taganrog first appeared on the Telegram channel of Russian state media outlet Izvestia. Citing unnamed sources, Izvestia reported a suspected drone attack that left three vessels affected: an oil tanker and two cargo ships. Preliminary information suggested that as many as 11 people may have been injured, with five fatalities and others wounded.

Izvestia reported the possible drone strike on Taganrog’s port at 10:35 a.m., though the attack itself was said to have occurred around 5 a.m. Few details have been released: the names of the ships, the extent of the damage, and the type of drones involved remain unclear.

As of the time of publication, the Krasnodar region’s official emergency response center had not posted about the incident in Taganrog. Their latest updates, issued between 9 and 11 a.m., concerned warnings about drone strikes on Sochi and Tuapse, with no mention of the Taganrog port.

Ukraine’s military command-including Naval Commander Robert Brovdi and the General Staff-did not comment on any drone raids or confirmed targets.

The Russian Ministry of Defense did release a statement in the morning, saying that on the night of June 5, the country was hit by a wave of 123 drones. While the statement made no mention of Taganrog, it did reference the appearance of UAVs over the Azov Sea. According to maps compiled by the DeepState project, reaching a Russian port on the Azov Sea would require drones to fly roughly 200 kilometers across Russian-controlled territory in Donetsk, potentially eluding Russian air defenses in the process.

At around 11 a.m. on June 5, the open-source intelligence Telegram channel Cyber Boroshno confirmed unverified information about a drone strike on Taganrog and possible damage to a tanker and cargo vessels. The channel added that the number of hits may be higher, though no further details were provided.

This incident is part of a recent trend: media reports have repeatedly highlighted attacks on vessels-despite international sanctions-calling at Russian Black Sea ports to transport oil, gas, or grain produced in Russian-occupied territories, as well as against Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. One major attack occurred on March 2, when a strike on the port of Novorossiysk damaged the Sheskharis oil terminal and three military vessels. On May 2, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a strike on two Russian oil tankers.

On May 28, three Russian “shadow fleet” tankers were damaged. Turkish media identified the tankers as Velora, Altura, and JAMES II, all under sanctions.

In another recent incident, the corvette Boykiy, which was docked in a dry dock in Kronstadt near St. Petersburg, was hit during a June 2 attack on military and strategic targets. Satellite images and on-the-ground photos showed the ship’s deck on fire and Russian personnel struggling to contain the blaze.

(C)UAWIRE 2026