Drones Strike Ferry Panagia in Kerch Strait Used to Transport Equipment to Crimea

Ukrainian drones attacked the ferry Panagia, which Russia has been using to transport military equipment from the Krasnodar region to occupied Crimea.

The Operational Headquarters – Krasnodar Krai reported on this.

Russia has increasingly relied on the ferry because of strict restrictions on traffic across the Crimean Bridge. Trucks, cargo vans, electric vehicles, and hybrid cars are currently banned from using the bridge, making the ferry an important route for transporting supplies and equipment to the peninsula.

As a result, Russia has been using the ferry to transport military equipment and missiles to support its forces in Crimea. According to the Operational Headquarters, ferry services will be suspended starting June 21. Transport will therefore have to use an alternative overland route along the R-280 highway through Rostov-on-Don, Taganrog, Mariupol, Melitopol, and Simferopol.

The main reason for the restrictions is the occupation authorities’ concern over potential new explosions and acts of sabotage. The first major explosion on the Crimean Bridge was caused by a truck carrying tons of explosives concealed in what appeared to be rolls of plastic film.

The ferry was not yet operating in the Black Sea when Ukraine disabled three Russian ferries in June 2024.

Greece sold the ferry to the Russian state-owned enterprise Rosmorport. It is operated by Marine Transport Company–Taman LLC, which provides maintenance services in the waters of the ports of Kavkaz and Kerch and serves as the vessel’s maritime agent.

The ferry officially entered service in the Black Sea in June 2025 after remaining docked in Sevastopol for four months.

On June 5, the Telegram channel Crimean Wind reported that Russian forces had used the vessel to transport missiles for S-300 and S-400 air defense systems to Crimea. The missiles were reportedly carried on the same ferry alongside civilian vehicles.

Militarnyi previously reported that on the night of April 6, drones from the Active Operations Department of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine struck the Russian railway ferry Slavyanin, which was being used for military logistics in the Kerch Strait.

The vessel played an important role in supplying Russia’s military contingent in temporarily occupied Crimea.

According to the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, the Slavyanin ferry was used by Russian forces to transport fuel, weapons, military equipment, and ammunition to the peninsula.