This is the dramatic moment two Ukrainian kamikaze drones were shot down, targeted at the resort Sochi where Vladimir Putin’s official Black Sea resort is based.
Russian air defences had to be deployed leading to major explosions offshore in the Krasnodar region.
The airport was closed and locals reported a series of half a dozen explosions with lights going out in some homes.
Putin, 71, often rules Russia from Sochi, and his lover Alina Kabaeva, 40, a gold-medal-winning rhythmic gymnast, is frequently based in the city and was here this week.
The city authorities said there were no casualties from today’s drone onslaught.
The Russian defence ministry said: ‘At about 7:10 am Moscow time, the Russian military foiled another attempt of the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack on Russian facilities with the use of drones.
‘Two unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed by the Russian Air Defence Troops on duty over the waters of the Black Sea near the coast of the Krasnodar Region.’
The attack comes in a week which has seen two Russian warships damaged in Krasnodar in an attack by Ukrainian-made undersea drones.
Kyiv also claims to have hit two Russian Su-25 warplanes.
Sochi mayor Alexey Kopaigorodsky said on his Telegram channel. ‘The airport and all systems of the resort city are [now] working normally.
‘The situation is under the control of the operational headquarters, thanks to all our [defence forces].
‘There is no threat to the life and health of residents and tourists, everything is calm in the resort.’
