Ukrainian drones strike Russian resort where Putin has private retreat: CCTV shows moment fuel depot explodes in overnight attack on Sochi
- In slowed-down CCTV footage the drone can be seen slamming into the fuel tank
- Russian investigators were later seen carrying the remains of kamikaze drone
A massive explosion and inferno at a fuel depot near an airport in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi where Vladimir Putin has his official summer residence on the Black Sea was caused by a drone strike, security footage has revealed.
Though Ukraine has not yet claimed responsibility, it is believed to be the first time the seaside resort city has been targeted by a Ukrainian kamikaze drone.
In slowed-down CCTV footage, the drone can be seen slamming into the fuel tank and immediately igniting a huge blaze in the strike which was heard ‘like a clap of thunder’ by Sochi residents at around 5am.
Pictures from the aftermath of the incident later revealed Russian investigators carrying the remains of the drone out of the debris for further investigation.
Moment of the 20 September 2023 drone strike at a fuel depot in Sochi. A drone can be seen slamming into the fuel tank
The drone can be seen slamming into the fuel tank and immediately igniting a huge blaze in the strike which was heard ‘like a clap of thunder’ by Sochi residents at around 5am
Dozens of firefighters tackled the blaze in the early hours
Emergency responders are seen working to extinguish the fire at the depot
Several armed Russian men dressed in military fatigues are seen carrying away debris of a drone that attacked Sochi fuel depot early on 20 September 2023
Dozens of firefighters were called to the scene to tackle the blaze, according to Krasnodar regional governor Veniamin Kondratyev who did not make any mention of the drone strike.
‘More than 60 [firefighters] and 15 pieces of equipment are working on site,’ he said.
‘There is no threat of fire spreading. The reasons for the incident are being clarified.’
The blazing tank contained 1,200 tons of diesel, according to a local media report.
‘There were no casualties,’ the mayor, Alexei Kopaigorodskyi, said on the Telegram messaging platform.
‘The airport and the entire transport system are operating as normal.’
Viktor Alksnis, a Soviet military tactician and politician known as the Black Colonel, immediately suggested Ukraine was targeting Putin’s official residence Bocharov Ruchey, where the Kremlin leader met Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko at the weekend.
Putin, 70, routinely runs the Russian government from Sochi, visiting the city several times a year. Bocharov Ruchey is his official summer residence.
It is also the main base of his suspected lover Alina Kabaeva, 40, who presides over an elite gymnastics academy in the resort.
‘It seems that the favourite vacation spot of the President of the Russian Federation, the Bocharov Ruchey residence near Sochi, will become inaccessible for security reasons,’ he posted.
Putin, 70, routinely runs the Russian government from Sochi, visiting the city several times a year. Bocharov Ruchey (pictured) is his official summer residence
Huge plumes of black smoke trailed into the sky as the sun rose over Sochi this morning
Smoke rises over Sochi following the strike early this morning
Vladimir Putin in Bocharov Ruchei residence, Sochi, in summer 2015
War analyst, former Soviet politician Viktor Alksnis
‘Ukraine is conducting a real hunt for Putin.
‘If indeed in this case it was an attack by a Ukrainian drone, then the Bocharov Ruchey residence is already the third attempt to attack the official residences of the President of the Russian Federation with a UAV.
‘The first attack was on May 3 on the Kremlin, the second on September 5 at Zavidovo [Putin’s hunting palace in Tver region].’
Alksnis asked: ‘I wonder if these attacks on Putin’s residences will be regarded as crossing red lines?’
Sochi is some 420 miles from the nearest Ukrainian-controlled territory – a long distance for a drone.
But Ukrainian groups and Russian resistance groups have unleashed drones from inside Putin’s country.
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