Beachgoers rushed for cover Monday after a projectile hit a crowded stretch of coastline in a Russian resort town on the Black Sea, killing seven people, including four children, and leaving dozens injured, officials said.
Footage shared from the scene showed the moment of impact in Arkhipo-Osipovka, a village near Gelendzhik, where the beach was filled with vacationers when the strike occurred.
In a post on X, the Russian Mission in Geneva described the incident as a “bloody attack” and claimed it was carried out by a Ukrainian-launched drone, accusing Kyiv of deliberately striking civilians.
A projectile is seen flying overhead near Arkhipo-Osipovka, Russia, on Monday. (Social media via Reuters)
“The attack targeted civilian infrastructure. Emergency and special services are working at the crash site,” regional Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev wrote on Telegram.
“What happened today is a targeted attack by the Kyiv regime against civilians who have no connection to the military infrastructure. This cynical and inhumane terrorist attack against children cannot be justified.”
A fiery explosion erupts at a Black Sea beach resort in Russia on Monday. (Social media via Reuters)
Andriy Kovalenko, an officer with Ukraine’s Defense Forces, rejected Russia’s version of events, saying the casualties were caused by Russian air defenses intercepting a drone and sending debris down onto the beach.
“Russian air defense shot down a drone over people lying on the beach,” Kovalenko said on Telegram.
In the video, sounds resembling gunfire were heard just seconds before a drone struck the beach, causing a fireball explosion that sent bystanders screaming. As the gunfire was heard, the drone appeared to veer sharply before diving toward the beach.
Preliminary Russian reports also found that several of the deaths were caused by “falling drone debris,” Kondratyev said.
In another Telegram post, Kovalenko indicated that Ukraine uses its weapons against Russian military-industrial infrastructure to affect Moscow’s ability to finance the war.
He further accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of creating an “illusion” that Russia would remain safe from the war by downplaying daily explosions as falling debris, limiting air raid warnings, and positioning air defenses near populated areas such as the Black Sea resort.
Smoke rises after a deadly blast along a Russian resort beach on Monday. (Social media via Reuters)
“Putin deliberately killed these people. Because if he had not started the war and struck Ukraine, they would be alive,” Kovalenko said.
“It was Putin, his air defense, who killed these Russians. His decisions in response to their decisions launched a chain of death for Russians.”
