Ukrainian drones pummelled the Russian Black Sea city of Sochi – where Vladimir Putin is building his own palace – as Russia’s bombs rocked the Ukrainian resort of Odesa
Ukraine and Russia struck each other’s most popular seaside resorts in major attacks as peace talks broke up in Istanbul.
Major city Sochi – where Vladimir Putin is building a new palace after tearing down his old one – was hit by massive explosions striking oil depots, railway warehouses, and damaging a key road link. Footage shows the dramatic drone attacks which hit Kremlin-run Sirius Federal Territory, in Sochi, where discussions were reportedly held on sending Putin’s young children, aged ten and five, to an elite school.
One woman was killed and several wounded as a Russian S-400 air defence missile misfired and hit a residential building in the country’s premier resort. Russia suffered around 100 flight delays as Sochi’s airport was closed due to the drones.
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Tourists were seen huddling in the underground car park of elite five star hotels in the city in the first major Ukrainian strike on Sochi in almost two years, which involved Lyutyi‑196 long range drones.
The Lukoil-Yugnefteprodukt oil depot exploded in flames in Sirius Federal Territory where head of administration Dmitry Plishkin urged people not to go out.
Meanwhile, Odesa faced Russia’s latest Putin strikes on civilians with a nine-storey residential building destroyed, and the city’s iconic Privoz Market engulfed in flames.
At least three people were injured in Odesa but the casualties were expected to rise.
Apartments from the 5th to the 8th floors of the residential building were destroyed, with fires on the stairwells, as dozens of terrorised residents were evacuated.
“Odesa experienced another hellish night,” said Ukraine’s state emergency service. “The Russians massively attacked the city with strike drones.”
The obliterated landmark market dates from 1827, and locals say of it: “Odesa begins from Privoz.”
It is considered the city’s heart – the soul and hub of humour, gossip, and local colour.
“There is damage to architectural monuments in the historic centre of Odesa, which is under UNESCO protection,” said the head of the regional administration, Oleh Kiper.
Russia also hit Mykolaiv, with drones striking two enterprises overnight, causing major fires.
And seven people, including a child, were injured in a Russian missile attack on Cherkasy.
The Black Sea strikes came after perfunctory peace talks in Istanbul in which Russia’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said the two sides were “quite far from each other”.
There was agreement on future exchanges of prisoners, including civilians, but little sign of a breakthrough towards ending the war.
The Ukrainians demanded Putin agree to a ceasefire and face to face talks with Zelensky to end the war.
Kyiv’s leading negotiator Rustem Umerov said: “We are now waiting for the ceasefire and the start of substantive peace negotiations. And it is up to the other side to take this basic step on the path to peace. We emphasise that the ceasefire must be real. It must include a complete halt to strikes on civilian and critically important infrastructure.”