Russian Sochi City Beaten By Ukrainian Drones Shortly After Putin's Virtual BRICS Meeting

Illustration.l MQ-9 military drone belongs to the US. (US Air Force Photo-Airman 1st Class William Rio Rosado)

JAKARTA - Russia's Ministry of Defense (Kemenhan) revealed that the Ukrainian drone strike targeted Sochi on the coast of the Black Sea, Russia from Monday night to Tuesday morning today.

Citing ABC News, Tuesday 9 September, this drone strike came just hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin was at his residence at the Sochi coastal resort holding a virtual meeting with BRICS countries on Monday afternoon.

The Kremlin in its official statement said it was unclear whether Putin was still at his residence during the Ukrainian drone strike that night.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said its troops shot down at least 31 Ukrainian drones in Monday night, including 15 drones over the Black Sea, two above Crimea, and two above Krasnodar Krai, the Black Sea region where Sochi is located.

At least one person was killed in Sochi in the attack, local Governor Veniamin Konndratiev said in a post on Telegram.

Konndratiev added that the man died when fragments of a drone fell on the car he was driving. At least six houses were also damaged in the attack.

The Mayor of Sochi, Andrey Proshunin, uploaded photos of damage to the impact of the Ukrainian drone attack on Telegram. Severe damage was carried out in the city's Adlersky district, just south of Sochi International Airport.

He said a military monument was also hit by debris due to a drone strike.

Russia's federal air transportation agency, Rosaviatsiya, also imposed temporary flight restrictions at the airport on Tuesday morning.