Moscow, Aug 23 (IANS): Seventeen people were rescued after Ukraine attacked a ferry docked at Russia's Black Sea port of Kavkaz, local authorities said.

"The naval detachment of the Russian Guard took part in the rescue operation after the Ukrainian Armed Forces struck the ferry in the port of Kavkaz," the Southern District of the Russian National Guard said in a statement released via its official Telegram channel.

The attack on Thursday targeted a rail ferry carrying 30 fuel tanks. The Kavkaz port is located in the Krasnodar region on the eastern side of Kerch Strait, reports Xinhua news agency.

Governor of Krasnodar region Veniamin Kondratyev confirmed that the ferry had sunk due to the damage sustained in the attack, though no fires were reported within the port itself.

To prevent the spread of fuel, containment booms were deployed, and the water's surface was treated with absorbent material.

Earlier on Thursday, a Ukrainian drone attack sparked a fire at a military facility in Russia's Volgograd region.

Russian air defence forces repelled the assault, destroying most of the Ukrainian drones, Volgograd Governor Andrei Bocharov was quoted by the regional administration's Telegram channel.

The attack occurred near the village of Marinovka, where the Ukrainian drones targeted a Russian military site, however, no casualties were reported.