Ukraine strikes two Russian rail ferries

FerryDuring the night between 13 and 14 March, the Ukrainian military attacked the RoRo rail ferry connection across the Kerch Strait between the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula and mainland Russia. The rail ferry service supplements the railway line on the bridge across the Kerch Strait, which has been attacked several times by Ukraine, although it has not yet been destroyed.

During the attack on the ferry link, two Russian rail ferries were hit: the 1984-built SLAVYANIN, with a capacity of 634 track metres/lanemetres, and the 1979-built AVANGARD, with a capacity of 560 trackmetres/lanemetres. According to photos published by the Ukrainian military intelligence service, both vessels were struck while at sea.

However, the service has not disclosed which attack method was used. Ukraine has previously attacked the route’s ports with missiles on two occasions, most recently in 2024, when ATACMS missiles were used. According to several media outlets, SLAVYANIN and AVANGARD were the last operational Russian rail ferries in the Black Sea region.

There are also reports that the Kerch Bridge lost part of its structural strength during previous attacks, which has made Russia increasingly dependent on the rail ferry connection for heavy transport across the strait as part of the occupying power’s supply line between the Krasnodar region and Crimea.

mar 16 2026