Drone crash on Black Sea beach near Gelendzhik kills four, injures ten
A drone that was intercepted by Russian forces fell on a crowded beach near Gelendzhik, killing four people, including a child, and wounding ten others.
Four people, including a child, were killed and ten injured after a drone fell on a beach in the resort village of Arkhipo-Osipovka, about 22 km from the Black Sea estate known as “Putin’s Palace,” regional authorities said. The Krasnodar regional emergency headquarters reported that minors were among the wounded and updated the casualty figures from an earlier statement that had listed three deaths and 13 injuries.
Russian officials attributed the incident to a Ukrainian drone that they said was targeting civilian infrastructure, but they did not disclose the intended target. A video posted online shows a drone approaching the shoreline amid gunfire before changing direction, crashing near beachgoers and exploding. Witnesses on a local social-media group said a Russian mobile fire unit on the beach intercepted the aircraft, and that air-defence systems had engaged drones in the area.
One user wrote that the drone circled the beach, made two passes, and then headed toward Arkhipo-Osipovka. Another account claimed a second drone crashed on a nearby recreation center after an interception. A separate Telegram channel suggested the intended target was a private facility linked to the defense enterprise NPO Mashinostroyeniya, which develops missile and spacecraft systems, but the drone fell about 300 m short of that site.
Russian authorities have not provided further details, and Ukrainian officials had not commented at the time of reporting.