The relatives of the sailor who died in the drone attack in Kuban have been seeking payments for three months.
The relatives of 40-year-old electromechanical engineer Ilya B. from the village of Ust-Donetsky, who died on June 5 during a drone attack in the Krasnodar region, have been unable to process payments for three months. His mother and three minor children have still not been recognized as victims in the criminal case.
On June 5, during a drone attack in the Taganrog Bay, the tanker and two bulk carriers were damaged, five people died, and six were injured, reported BFM Kuban. On the same day, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry announced on its website that there were 25 Azerbaijani citizens on the attacked cargo ships "Natra" and "Tsirkon" and that, according to information received from the Russian side, five of them died, and three were injured. On June 6, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry clarified this information: four Azerbaijani citizens died, four were injured, and one person initially listed as a deceased Azerbaijani citizen turned out to be a Russian citizen.
The sailor's relatives complained about the delays in the investigation regarding their recognition as victims
According to relatives, 40-year-old Ilya B. from the village of Ust-Donetsky in the Rostov region had worked as an electromechanical engineer on the tanker "Bavly" for over a year. He was supposed to return home on June 20, but he died on June 5 during a drone attack on the tanker in the Krasnodar region. He left behind an elderly mother and three minor children aged 11, eight, and two.
The relatives' account and photocopies of documents were published today by the Telegram channel "Caution, news". In the photocopies, the names of the deceased's relatives are listed as Valentina and Roman.
According to the relatives, to process the payment, they need a ruling recognizing them as victims. Initially, the case was handled by the Krasnodar transport investigative department. The relatives asked the investigator how to obtain the ruling necessary for processing payments due to death from terrorist actions. The investigator replied that such cases could take years to investigate.
Then the case was transferred to the Investigative Committee. The relatives contacted the agency, but they were again directed to the Krasnodar transport investigative department. After that, the investigator promised to give an order for Ilya's mother or brother to be summoned for questioning and recognized as victims, which would allow them to obtain the ruling. However, a month later, none of them were summoned.
"The investigator keeps giving us the runaround. We have absolutely no information about the case or the progress of the investigation. Even after three months, the mother and minor children have not been recognized as victims. We cannot obtain the investigator's ruling," said one of the relatives on September 15, as quoted by the Telegram channel.
The relatives also contacted the administration of the Ust-Donetsky district. There, they were reportedly told that they were facing a similar case for the first time and did not know how to proceed. The relatives also wrote to the governor of the Rostov region. Additionally, they reached out to the shipowner company, but they stated that they could not help without the investigator's ruling. The insurance company is currently refusing to make the payment, the relatives claim.
Photocopies of Ilya's death certificate, the response from the Rostov region government to the relatives' appeal, and the response from the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of Russia are attached to the publication.
The death certificate states that Ilya died on June 5 in the Krasnodar region. The cause of death is listed as burns affecting 90% or more of the body surface. The document also notes "injuries sustained as a result of terrorist actions, not classified in other categories." The certificate was issued on June 11 by the civil registry office of the Ust-Donetsky district administration of the Rostov region.
The response from the Rostov region government dated August 27 states that the appeal received on August 24 has been forwarded to the Investigative Committee, the Ministry of Labor and Social Development of the Rostov region, and the regional branch of the Social Fund of Russia. These agencies are to inform the applicant of the results of the review.
The response from the Investigative Committee dated August 18 states that a criminal case was initiated on June 5 under paragraph "b" of part 3 of Article 205 of the Criminal Code of Russia regarding the terrorist attack using unmanned aerial vehicles on the sea vessel "Bavly." The document confirms that Ilya died as a result of this attack. "You need to contact the Krasnodar transport investigative department <...>, where investigative actions will be carried out with your participation, and copies of the rulings on the initiation of the criminal case and on recognizing you as a victim will be issued," the response from the Investigative Committee states.
Lawyers explained the procedure for payments to the families of the deceased
"Caucasian Knot" also reported that payments were assigned to the relatives of those killed in drone attacks in southern Russia through various regional mechanisms. For instance, on August 7 of this year, the authorities of the Rostov region promised an additional payment to the families of two children from Shakhty who died in an attack near Gelendzhik. Earlier, the authorities of Gelendzhik announced a payment of over 1.5 million rubles to the relatives of each deceased. On July 30, 2025, the administration of Sochi announced that in the event of damage due to a terrorist act, the family of the deceased is entitled to a one-time payment of 1.5 million rubles, distributed equally among each family member, and the processing of compensation from the federal budget is carried out within the framework of the initiated criminal case under the article on terrorism.
In the absence of a state of emergency, the issue of compensation for the consequences of attacks is usually resolved at the local government level, noted lawyer Tatyana Alexeeva in February 2025. "If there is no state of emergency, the state usually voluntarily compensates the damage," she told a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot."
The procedure for payments in Krasnodar to the families of those killed in August 2024 was explained by lawyer Anna Polovinskaya. "A payment of 2 million rubles for the death of a person as a result of a drone attack can be received by the spouse of the deceased, their parents, and children," she said to a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot."