Russian police have detained two girls who were filming TikTok videos against the backdrop of the burning oil depot in Sochi, Russia’s main resort city, after Ukraine launched a major strike. Some 30 huge explosions led to a massive inferno at the facility close to the main airport often used by Vladimir Putin. “Sochi suffered a drone attack by the Kyiv regime last night,” the governor of Russia’s Krasnodar region, Veniamin Kondratiev, said on Telegram.
The Lyutyi long-range drones led to major disruption at Sochi’s airport, with more than 50 tourist planes diverted or delayed, and waiting passengers evacuated to an underground bomb shelter. In the video, 21-year-old Dasha and 19-year-old Karina can be smile and sing along to Miyagi’s track “Raspberry Dawn” in front of the glow of the fire caused by the UAV attack. According to posts on Telegram, after the video was published online, the police conducted an investigation and the girls were arrested.
Their video was posted by public pages, with many calling for the girls to be forced to apologise for their actions.
Krasnodar region Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said drone debris hit a fuel tank at the oil depot, and 127 firefighters were tackling the blaze on Sunday, which was later put out. Russian authorities said the drone attack on the refinery was one of several launched by Ukraine over the weekend.
Kyiv has said it would intensify its air strikes against Russia in response to an increase in Russian attacks on its territory in recent weeks, which have killed dozens of civilians.
Meanwhile, Russia again bombed a key bridge in Ukraine’s southern city of Kherson, killing one man, local officials said. Footage shows Russia destroying a vital road crossing on the Dnipro River, severing a main artery to the Korabel district of the city. In nearby Mykolaiv, seven people were injured and several homes were destroyed. Ukraine also reported seven deaths in Saturday’s Russian attacks in the Kherson and eastern Donetsk regions.
Ukraine has not commented on the strikes. It has been targeting Russia’s energy infrastructure in retaliation for Russia’s sustained bombardment of Ukraine’s energy grid throughout the war.
There were also reports late on Saturday (August 2) of blasts and smoke close to the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in occupied Ukraine, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
“Any attack in the vicinity of a nuclear power plant – regardless of the intended target – poses potential risks also for nuclear safety and must be avoided. Once again, I call for maximum military restraint near nuclear facilities to prevent the continued risk of a nuclear accident,” Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.
In July, Trump said Putin had 50 days to end the war, or Russia would face severe tariffs targeting its oil and other exports. However, on Monday (July 28), Trump set a new “10 or 12” day deadline. He later set a new deadline, which would expire on August 8.