A large fire at an oil depot near Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi is attributed to a Ukrainian drone attack by Russian authorities. Flights at Sochi’s nearby airport have been suspended. Krasnodar Region Governor Veniamin Kondratyev reported on Telegram that debris from a drone struck a fuel tank, involving 127 firefighters in responding to the blaze. Concurrently, a Russian missile strike destroyed homes and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine’s southern city of Mykolaiv, according to local officials.
At least seven civilians were injured in Mykolaiv, subjected to repeated shelling by Russian forces. Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported three of the injured are hospitalized. Russian authorities stated that the drone assault on the Sochi refinery was among several other attacks by Ukraine over the weekend, targeting sites in southern Russian cities like Ryazan, Penza, and Voronezh. The governor of Voronezh reported four injuries from a drone strike.
Russia’s defense ministry claimed 93 Ukrainian drones were intercepted overnight, with 60 over the Black Sea region. Ukraine’s air force stated Russia launched 83 or 76 drones and seven missiles overnight, downing 61. It added that 16 drones and six missiles hit targets in eight locations.
This follows a particularly deadly week for Ukrainian civilians, including a Thursday attack on Kyiv that killed at least 31 people. More than 300 drones and eight cruise missiles were launched in this assault, marking one of the deadliest attacks on the capital since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
In response to these strikes, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged for stronger international sanctions on Russia, while US President Donald Trump condemned Russia’s actions in Ukraine and hinted at upcoming new sanctions against Moscow. In July, Trump warned Putin to end the war within 50 days or face severe tariffs on oil and other exports. On Monday, Trump set a new “10 or 12” day deadline, later extending it to expire on August 8.