Ukrainian Drone Strikes Hit Crimean Museum and Russian Energy Sites
KYIV/SEVASTOPOL — Ukrainian drone attacks hit a historic museum in Russia-annexed Crimea and targeted energy and military infrastructure deep inside Russia, according to officials and reports from the region on Wednesday. The strikes, part of Kyiv's campaign to raise the costs of the war for Moscow, also disrupted train schedules and contributed to fuel shortages on the peninsula.
Museum Damaged in Sevastopol
Sevastopol's Russian-installed governor, Mikhail Razvozhayev, announced early Wednesday on Telegram that a Ukrainian drone damaged the building housing the Panorama “Defense of Sevastopol 1854-1855” painting, setting its roof on fire. “This building is not just a museum, it is a symbol of resilience, which has repeatedly taken the blows of the enemy,” Razvozhayev said, as reported by multiple outlets. He also declared, “The enemy will pay for this sacrilege!”
The museum commemorates Russia's 1853-1856 Crimean War struggle against a coalition that included the Ottoman Empire. Razvozhayev noted that during World War II's Siege of Sevastopol, the panorama building was subjected to massed bombing by German aviation.
Emergency services, including Russia's Emergency Ministry and Sevastopol Rescue Service, were deployed to the site and extinguished the fire, according to Russian media reports cited by Al Jazeera and the Jerusalem Post. Razvozhayev did not provide details on the extent of the damage or any casualties, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Train Schedules Cut After Deadly Attack
Authorities in Crimea also reduced nighttime train schedules after a drone attack earlier this week killed a railway worker and injured another, as reported by Al Jazeera. According to Crimea's governor, Sergei Aksyonov, who confirmed the incident on Telegram, a drone struck passenger train number 68 Moscow-Simferopol, hitting the locomotive.
“The assistant locomotive driver was killed and the locomotive driver was wounded. Passengers were not injured,” Aksyonov said, as quoted by Al Jazeera. Eight passenger trains were stopped, and all passengers were evacuated by bus to Simferopol and Sevastopol, the report added.
The Black Sea peninsula, annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014, is facing a fuel shortage following recent Ukrainian drone attacks, just as the holiday season starts, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Deep Strikes into Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country's forces struck several military and energy infrastructure sites, including a military factory that he said supplied components for Russian drones and missiles, as reported by The Hindu. In a social media post, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian FP-5 Flamingo long-range missiles hit a facility in Cheboksary, located in the Chuvashiya region more than 900 kilometers from the front line.
Russia's Defence Ministry said air defenses downed 326 Ukrainian drones overnight, according to all three outlets. Oleg Nikolayev, the head of Chuvashiya, confirmed the missile attack but did not give details. The Astra online news outlet reported that the Ukrainian strike hit the VNIIR-Progress plant that produces antennas for drones, as cited by The Hindu.
Zelenskyy also said Ukrainian forces struck a refinery in Russia's Samara region, where Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said several industrial plants were damaged by drone strikes and three people were injured, The Hindu reported. Fedorishchev did not name the facilities, but Astra carried images of a large fire at the Samara refinery.
Additionally, Zelenskyy said Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) targeted two oil infrastructure facilities in Russia's Vladimir region, about 700 kilometers from the front line, according to The Hindu.
Escalation and Calls for Talks
The drone campaign comes as Zelenskyy last week proposed face-to-face talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a suggestion that the Kremlin dismissed, saying Ukraine was undermining efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict, according to the Jerusalem Post. The conflict between Ukraine and Russia has been ongoing for four years, as noted by The Hindu.
The strikes underscore the expanding scope of Ukraine's long-range capabilities and its determination to target Russian military and economic assets far from the front lines. Meanwhile, Russia's air defense systems have been stretched to counter the increasing number of drone attacks across multiple regions.
As the situation develops, the human cost of the attacks continues to mount. In addition to the railway worker killed in Crimea, the strikes on the Samara region reportedly injured three people, according to The Hindu's report. The full extent of the damage to the museum and other sites remains unclear.
Reporting contributed by Al Jazeera, the Jerusalem Post, and The Hindu.