Ukrainian Drones Strike Russian Ferry Slavyanin Used for Military Logistics

On the night of April 6, drones from the Active Operations Department of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) struck the Russian railway ferry Slavyanin, used for military logistics in the Kerch Strait.

The DIU reported the attack on social media.

The vessel played a key role in supplying the Russian military contingent in temporarily occupied Crimea.

The DIU reported that the ferry was used to transport fuel, weapons, military equipment, and ammunition to the peninsula.

According to Ukrainian intelligence, Slavyanin was the last railway ferry of the Russian invading forces in the Kerch Strait that remained afloat after previous strikes.

The military released footage from kamikaze drones attacking the ship at night, showing serious damage that rendered the ferry inoperable. One clip shows a large fire near the bridge caused by the strike.

In March, DIU special forces also targeted Slavyanin alongside the ferry Avangard, which was rendered inoperable.

This was not the ferry’s first damage. In July 2024, Slavyanin was struck while in the port of Kavkaz, Krasnodar Krai.

The vessel is designed to transport railway cars, rolling stock, dangerous goods, and oversized cargo. Its cargo deck can carry loads that cannot fit on conventional ships.

Drone strikes by the DIU form part of a systematic effort by Ukrainian forces to disrupt the Russian invaders’ logistics.

Last month, DIU’s Ghosts unit also struck two Russian high-speed landing boats, BK-16, in Crimea.