Naval drone strikes oil tanker near Sochi, sparking huge fire
An oil tanker off Russia's Black Sea coast near Sochi was hit by a naval drone, causing a major blaze. Separately, Bulgaria said two commercial vessels in its exclusive economic zone were attacked by drones.
Russia's transport ministry says a naval drone has struck an oil tanker off the country's Black Sea coast. The resulting fire was so large that black smoke covered parts of the resort city of Sochi.
The ministry said the vessel sails under the Liberian flag and that crude oil is burning openly on the water. Firefighting will start only once the flames subside enough for rescue vessels to approach safely. All 23 crew members, who are Indian citizens, were reported rescued. Kyiv has not commented.
Videos and photos shared on social media showed bright orange flames at sea and a thick column of black smoke. Sochi is home to almost 500,000 people. Local officials restricted access to the coast and beaches.
Attacks on shipping in the Black Sea
Both Russia and Ukraine have targeted commercial shipping around the Black Sea since the war began. Russia has recently attacked grain vessels carrying Ukrainian goods near Romania's coast.
On Tuesday, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said two commercial vessels had been hit by drones, in what he described as the first attack on shipping in the exclusive economic zone of a NATO member in the Black Sea. After an emergency government meeting, he called it an unacceptable attack and a blatant violation of international and maritime law. Sea and aerial drones struck the ships about 128 kilometres off Bulgaria's coast.
Bulgarian authorities are still investigating where the drones came from, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy blamed Russia.
Strikes on Kyiv
Zelenskyy warned in his evening address of a likely massive Russian strike, and Kyiv was attacked in the early hours of Wednesday. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said buildings and warehouses across the capital were damaged. Reuters reported two people killed, while AFP reported multiple explosions. A separate Russian strike on Dnipro damaged an industrial facility.
As winter nears, attacks on Kyiv have intensified, targeting energy infrastructure, rail and road transport, including bridges across the Dnipro. Air raid sirens sound almost constantly.
