A drone attack on four vessels in Taganrog Bay, in the Sea of Azov, resulted in the death of one crew member and damage to the ships, regional authorities said on Saturday. Among the vessels struck was a tanker loaded with methanol, according to official statements.
The governor of the southern Rostov region, Yuri Slyusar, said in a Telegram post that a seaman serving on a technical support vessel had been killed. He offered his condolences to the deceased's family and loved ones and added that no other people had been injured in the incident.
Slyusar reported that the vessels sustained differing degrees of damage. He also stressed that there was no risk of a methanol spill or leak from the tanker that was hit, indicating that the cargo remained secure despite the attack.
Local officials said more than one and a half dozen drones were destroyed while repelling the aerial attack on the region. In a broader statement, the Russian Defence Ministry said that air-defence units had downed a total of 178 Ukrainian drones over various regions overnight.
The strike on the vessels comes after a series of related incidents the previous day. On Friday, fires were reported at two fuel depots and at the Taganrog seaport, and authorities attributed those fires to drone attacks as well. Officials have described a pattern of multiple unmanned aerial systems being engaged and destroyed during the same timeframe as the maritime strike.
Authorities have provided the casualty count and damage assessment while emphasizing containment of hazardous materials on board the struck tanker. Beyond confirming the fatality and the damage to the four vessels, officials reported no additional injuries and no ongoing release of methanol from the tanker.
The sequence of overnight engagements, the reported numbers of drones neutralized, and the related fires at fuel storage facilities and the port were all included in official statements describing the security response and the material impacts of the recent attacks in the region.