Ukrainian drones strike Sevastopol museum and key Russian oil refineries

Ukrainian drones have struck a historic museum in Russia-annexed Sevastopol in Crimea, igniting a roof fire, as Russian authorities slashed nighttime train schedules amid intensifying air attacks across the peninsula and deep into Russia.

Sevastopol’s Russian-installed governor, Mikhail Razvozhayev, announced the damage on Telegram early on Wednesday.

“The UAV damaged the building of the Panorama ‘Defense of Sevastopol 1854-1855’ [painting], the roof is on fire,” he said. “This building is not just a museum, it is a symbol of resilience, which has repeatedly taken the blows of the enemy.”

The museum commemorates Russia’s 1853-1856 Crimean War struggle against a coalition including the Ottoman Empire.

Razvozhayev said that during World War II’s Siege of Sevastopol, “the Panorama building was subjected to massed bombing by German aviation”. He declared: “The enemy will pay for this sacrilege!”

Emergency services, including Russia’s Emergency Ministry and Sevastopol Rescue Service, were deployed to the site and extinguished the fire, Russian media reported.

Authorities in Crimea also cut nighttime train schedules after a drone attack on Monday wounded a locomotive driver and killed his assistant.

Crimea governor Sergei Aksyonov confirmed on Telegram that the drone struck passenger train number 68 Moscow-Simferopol, hitting the locomotive.