Ukraine drone attack sparks fire in Russian resort city
Plumes of thick smoke rose above the city, forcing the airport to close and requiring more than 100 firefighters to tackle the blaze.
The oil refinery was struck by debris from one of the estimated 93 Ukrainian drones flown into Russia overnight, including 60 over the Black Sea region.
Sochi, which hosted the 2014 Olympic Winter Games and where Vladimir Putin once owned a holiday home, has witnessed only a limited number of Ukrainian attacks over the course of the war.
However, the attack on Sunday appears to be part of a wider strategy to hit oil refineries and worsen potential gasoline shortages in Russia this month.
Low domestic stocks, peak seasonal demand and repair work at domestic refineries are likely to choke the supply of gasoline in August, trade sources told Reuters on Friday.
Russian authorities said that the Sochi drone attack was accompanied by Ukrainian strikes on oil refineries in the southern Russian cities of Ryazan, Penza and Voronezh.
Ukraine's military said on Saturday that it had struck oil facilities inside Russia, including a major refinery, as well as a military airfield for drones and an electronics factory.
Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces said they had hit the oil refinery in Ryazan, about 180 km (110 miles) south-east of Moscow, causing a fire on its premises.
Also hit was the Annanefteprodukt oil storage facility in the Voronezh region that borders on northeastern Ukraine.
Emergency officials reported that the fuel tank in Sochi had a capacity of 2,000 cubic metres (70,000 cubic feet), requiring 127 firefighters to tackle the blaze
Tourists at the Black Sea city told the Russian news agency Gazeta.ru that they hid in underground passages as sirens blared in the resort city.
'There were a lot of explosions right next to us, orange flashes in the sky,' one shaken tourist told the Krasnodar TV channel. 'The sound was terrible, the siren was screaming… my hands are still trembling.'
Some tourists, however, created videos of themselves posing in front of the fire lip-syncing to a popular rap song.
Andrey Prushunin, the mayor of Sochi, wrote on Telegram that 'a fuel tank caught fire at an oil depot' in the Adlersky city district of Sochi, adding: 'I express my gratitude to the air defence services for their professionalism.'
Rosaviatsia, Russia's civil aviation authority, announced that flights had been halted at Sochi airport in response to the attack.
Airports in Russia have been repeatedly disrupted by Ukrainian attacks in recent months as part of a campaign to bring the war home to Russians, with some reporting that at least one airport was shut down temporarily on almost every single day in July.
The shutdowns have sparked frustration across Russia during tourist season and pose a surging cost for its aviation and tourism industries.
Meanwhile, in Russia's overnight attacks on southern Ukraine, seven people were wounded by a missile strike on a residential area of the city of Mykolaiv.
It came at the end of one of the bloodiest weeks in Ukraine in recent months, after a Russian drone and missile barrage on Kyiv killed 31 people and injured 179 on Thursday.
02:54 PM BST
Our live coverage has ended. Here's a round-up of today's events:
Ukrainian drones hit an oil depot near the Black Sea resort of Sochi in Russia, sparking a huge blaze and halting flights
Russia and China carried out scheduled joint artillery and anti-submarine drills in the Sea of Japan
Ukrainian intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said a change of leadership in the Kremlin 'won't change anything'
A Ukrainian FPV drone destroyed a mined bridge in Russia's Bryansk region
Ukrainian officials were arrested for a large-scale bribery scheme
Ukraine and Russia agreed on a fresh prisoner exchange of 1,200 people
02:27 PM BST
Ukraine and Russia agree on fresh prisoner swap
Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that Ukraine and Russia have agreed to exchange 1,200 prisoners after their latest round of negotiations in July.
'There is an agreement to exchange 1,200 people, and work on the lists is ongoing,' Mr Zelensky wrote on X, adding 'we are also working to unblock the return of our civilians and are verifying data on each individual.'
Prisoner exchanges have occurred in each round of negotiations between the countries this year as the parties make little progress towards a ceasefire or other agreements.
Russia has not yet commented on the prisoner swap.
02:16 PM BST
Pictured: Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a Russian drone strike
12:36 PM BST
Russia carries out second airstrike on bridge in Kherson
Russia struck a road bridge in Kherson used to transport military logistics for a second consecutive day.
Russian forces reportedly dropped two guided bombs on the bridge, which connects the city to the Korabel neighbourhood.
Oleksandr Prokudin, the regional governor, urged residents of the Korabel neighbourhood to evacuate, noting 'it will be difficult to deliver food and other things for the time being.'
12:22 PM BST
Explosions reported near Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
Explosions and smoke were reportedly observed at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant this weekend.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reportedly heard blasts and saw smoke rising from the direction of the plant, according to Rafael Mariano Grossi, the IAEA Director General.
Plant staff said that the auxiliary site was hit by shelling and drone strikes.
The auxiliary facility is located 1,200 metres from the plant's site perimeter.
In a statement, Mr Grossi called for 'maximum military restraint', saying: 'Any attack in the vicinity of a nuclear power plant - regardless of the intended target - poses potential risks also for nuclear safety and must be avoided.'
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and was captured by Russia in March 2022.
12:02 PM BST
Ukrainian officials arrested for large-scale bribery scheme
A Ukrainian MP and other officials have been arrested for a large-scale bribery scheme in buying drones and electronic warfare systems.
The scheme reportedly entailed state contracts with suppliers being signed at prices inflated by up to 30%.
In a statement on X, Volodymyr Zelensky wrote that 'there can only be zero tolerance for corruption, clear teamwork in uncovering it, and ultimately, a fair sentence.'
'I am grateful to the anti-corruption agencies for their work,' Mr Zelensky added.
It comes after Mr Zelensky faced backlash for introducing a bill to strip anti-corruption agencies of their autonomy.
Their independence was later restored on Thursday after an unprecedented wave of protests across the country.
11:40 AM BST
Pictured: Russian ambulance equipped with anti-drone protective cage
With 70% of frontline casualties in the Russia-Ukraine war driven by airborne drone strikes, increasingly innovative methods have been used to ward off attacks from above.
One of these methods is anti-drone mesh and netting, which aims to deflect or harmlessly capture incoming drones.
Mesh, netting and elaborate metal cages are now frequently seen covering vehicles near the frontline on both sides.
11:35 AM BST
Sochi fire has been contained, say Russian authorities
Credit: @exilenova_plus / Telegram
Regional authorities in Russia have announced that the fire sparked by a Ukrainian drone attack in Sochi has been contained.
Earlier, footage showed flames licking up the Sochi oil depot as at least 120 firefighters were summoned to douse the blaze.
Russian state media outlet TASS reported that 25 flights were delayed departing Sochi airport after the attack.
The drone strike makes up part of Ukraine's disruptive strategy in Russia, aiming to bring the war closer to ordinary people.
In July, at least one Russian airport reportedly shut down temporarily almost every single day of the month.
11:21 AM BST
Pictured: Ukrainian FPV drone destroys Russian-mined bridge
A Ukrainian FPV drone has apparently destroyed a bridge over the Tsata River in Russia's Bryansk region, according to footage posted to Telegram.
The wreckage of the bridge is now said to be impassable.
The strike reportedly came after Ukrainian forces identified that Russia had mined the bridge in order to use it for a potential retreat.
11:08 AM BST
Russian and Chinese navies carry out joint drills
The Russian and Chinese navies are carrying out artillery and anti-submarine drills in the Sea of Japan, Reuters has reported, citing the Russian Pacific Fleet.
They take place two days after Donald Trump said that he had ordered two nuclear-capable submarines to be positioned in 'the appropriate regions' after 'highly provocative statements' by Russia's former president Dmitry Medvedev.
The drills are said to be part of scheduled joint exercises and are not being carried out in response to Mr Trump's remarks.
10:57 AM BST
No hope for change in Russia after Putin, says Ukrainian intelligence chief
Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine's military intelligence chief, has said that a change of leadership in the Kremlin will not change Russia's trajectory.
'Their system is fairly robust and stress-resistant... The departure of Russia's current leader won't change anything,' Mr Budanov stated in an interview on Saturday.
'They have built a system in which any successor will, at the very least, remain within the same paradigm,' he added.
'A whole generation of people has grown up in Russia who were born and have lived under President Putin - and many have already died for him. They can't imagine any other reality.'
10:36 AM BST
Russian missile attack injures seven in southern Ukraine
A Russian missile attack on the city of Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine has injured seven people and damaged private houses, apartment buildings and cars, according to Vitaliy Kim, the regional governor.
Writing on Telegram, Mr Kim shared photographs of the damage, adding that a 57-year-old and a 74-year-old man were hospitalised following the attacks.
Ukraine's air force announced on Telegram that Russia launched 76 attack drones and seven missiles at Ukraine overnight, striking eight locations.
10:18 AM BST
Good morning
Ukrainian drones hit the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi overnight, sparking a huge fire.
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