Moscow, May 3: Russia has declared a state of emergency in the port city of Novorossiysk in the Krasnodar region on Saturday, claiming an attack by Ukraine that damaged apartment buildings in a residential complex.

"A state of emergency has been introduced in Novorossiysk. As a result of the overnight attack by the Kyiv regime, apartment buildings in the Aurora Residential Complex and on Suvorovskaya Street sustained damage. Private property in the Eastern District has also been hit. Emergency response services are working at the site. We will establish temporary accommodation centres if necessary," said Mayor Andrey Kravchenko on his Telegram channel.

Governor of Krasnodar region, Veniamin Kondratyev, said the Black Sea coast of the Krasnodar Region was attacked by Kyiv on Friday night, damaging three residential buildings in Novorossiysk.

The report suggested that the drone attack injured five people, including two children and damaged three tanks at a grain terminal.

The drone wreckage also fell in the village of Taman in the Temryuksky district, and in Yurovka and Tsibanobalka near Anapa. While private homes were hit, no casualties were reported.

Speaking to the state-run news agency TASS, Sergey Altukhov, a State Duma (lower house of the Russian Parliament) member from the Krasnodar region, said that the attack on Novorossiysk, which affected children, showed that the Kyiv regime has shifted from damaging infrastructure facilities to terrorism against Russian civilians.

"Novorossiysk is our key transportation and logistics hub in the Black Sea. For three years, it seemed the city had grown used to living in a constant state of high readiness for emergencies. The Kyiv regime has moved from strikes on infrastructure to outright terrorism targeting civilians. As a result of tonight’s attack, three apartment buildings in densely populated residential neighbourhoods were damaged. People have been injured," Altukhov said.

Earlier, blaming Ukraine for destabilisation in the Black Sea region, Russian Presidential aide and Maritime Board Chairman, Nikolay Patrushev, said that both Moscow and Washington are interested in ensuring the security of maritime traffic, and the next step should be made by Kyiv.

"The activities of Ukraine's armed forces and mercenaries are the main destabilising factor in the Black Sea region," Patrushev said in an interview with TASS.

"At the same time, as we have already learned from practice, Kyiv has repeatedly demonstrated its total inability to negotiate with," said the Kremlin aide.

--IANS

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