Veniamin Kondratyev, the governor of Russia's southern Krasnodar region where Gelendzhik is located, called what had happened a tragedy. A specialist medical disaster team had been ​dispatched to the scene ‌of the explosion at the holiday village of Arkhipo-Osipovka, part of the wider Gelendzhik resort ​area, local authorities said. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was cited by the TASS state news agency as accusing Ukraine of resorting to terrorism. Russia itself has repeatedly struck targets in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, displacing millions and laying waste to swathes of Ukraine. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appointed chief negotiator Rustem Umerov as the new head of the foreign intelligence service on Monday.