Ukrainian drones strike Russian resort where Putin has private retreat: CCTV shows moment fuel depot explodes in overnight attack on Sochi

A massive explosion and fire at a fuel depot near an airport in the Russian resort of Sochi, where Vladimir Putin has his official summer residence on the Black Sea, was caused by a drone strike, it has been revealed security footage.

Although Ukraine has not yet claimed responsibility, it is believed to be the first time the resort has been targeted by a Ukrainian suicide drone.

In slow-motion CCTV footage, the drone can be seen hitting the fuel tank and immediately starting a huge fire during the strike which was heard “like a clap of thunder” by residents of Sochi at around 5am.

Photos taken after the incident later revealed that Russian investigators were carrying the remains of the drone out of the debris for further investigation.

The drone can be seen hitting the fuel tank and immediately starting a huge fire during the strike which was heard “like a clap of thunder” by Sochi residents around 5am.

Dozens of firefighters battled the blaze in the early hours of the morning.

Rescue workers are seen working to put out the fire at the depot

Several armed Russian men dressed in military fatigues are seen carrying away debris from a drone that attacked the Sochi fuel depot early on September 20, 2023.

Dozens of firefighters were called to the scene to fight the blaze, according to Krasnodar regional governor Veniamin Kondratyev, who made no mention of the drone attack.

“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 burning tank contained 1,200 tons of diesel, according to local media.

“There were no casualties,” the mayor, Alexei Kopaigorodskyi, said on the Telegram messaging platform.

“The airport and the entire transportation system are operating normally.”

Viktor Alksnis, a Soviet military tactician and politician known as the Black Colonel, immediately suggested that Ukraine was targeting Putin’s official residence, Bocharov Ruchey, where the Kremlin leader met with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko this weekend. end.

Putin, 70, regularly 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 alleged lover, Alina Kabaeva, 40, who presides over an elite gymnastics academy in the resort.

“It seems that the favorite vacation spot of the President of the Russian Federation, the Bocharov Ruchey residence near Sochi, will become inaccessible for security reasons,” he said.

Putin, 70, regularly runs the Russian government from Sochi, visiting the city several times a year. Bocharov Ruchey (photo) is his official summer residence

Huge plumes of black smoke billowed into the sky as the sun rose over Sochi this morning.

Smoke rises over Sochi following strike early this morning

Vladimir Putin in the Bocharov Ruchei residence, Sochi, in the summer of 2015

Viktor Alksnis, war analyst and former Soviet politician

“Ukraine is leading a real hunt for Putin.

“If in this case it was indeed 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 drone.

“The first attack took place on May 3 against the Kremlin, the second on September 5 in Zavidovo (Putin’s hunting palace in the Tver region).”

Alksnis asked: “I wonder if these attacks on Putin’s residences will be considered a crossing of red lines?

Sochi is about 420 miles from the nearest Ukrainian-controlled territory – a long distance for a drone.

But Ukrainian groups and Russian resistance groups have launched drones from inside Putin’s country.