Emergency evacuation begins in Taganrog, russia, following large-scale drone attack

An emergency evacuation of the local population has begun in the russian city of Taganrog. People are being rapidly evacuated from residential buildings that found themselves at the epicenter of the emergency zone following a prolonged drone attack. The city’s mayor, Svetlana Kambulova, has reported this.

According to her, a serious “drone threat” still persists in the town, so emergency services are forced to evacuate residents to safer locations. At the same time, local authorities are trying to avoid providing details on the extent of the damage and are not directly naming the exact causes of the incident.

The massive drone attack on Taganrog lasted for several hours straight, resulting in serious consequences. According to Yury Slyusar, the governor of the Rostov Oblast, the strikes sparked a large-scale fire in the seaport area and severely damaged the roof of one of the administrative buildings.

Major fires were reported simultaneously at two key locations in the city—directly in the port area and near the local aviation college. Preliminary analysis of video footage indicates that the “Kurganneftoprodukt” oil depot was struck by drones. Efforts to address the aftermath of the explosions and extinguish the fires are currently underway, and the situation in the city remains tense.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on July 8, the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) struck nine russian vessels in the waters of the Sea of Azov. In total, over the past three days, the Ukrainian military has struck 21 russian vessels.

The Ukrainian military struck six tankers, a dry cargo ship, and a ferry on the night of July 6–7. Two more vessels were attacked on July 6 near the russian city of Taganrog. They were transporting fuel to occupied Crimea.