Nuclear watchdog confirms explosions near power plant; oil refinery 'on fire' in Russia

Fires in Sochi after reports of drone strikes

As we have been reporting, more than 120 firefighters are trying to extinguish a huge blaze at an oil depot in the southern Russian city of Sochi.

Veniamin Kondratyev, the regional governor, said it was sparked by a Ukrainian drone attack.

A fuel tank with a capacity of 2,000 cubic metres has caught light, the Russian RIA news agency reported, citing emergency officials. 

In its daily morning report on Telegram, the Russian defence ministry said its units destroyed 93 Ukrainian drones overnight.

Ukraine has not commented.

Russian-Chinese navy exercises under way in Sea of Japan

What is described as the "practical part" of Russian-Chinese naval exercises has begun in the Sea of Japan, the Russian TASS news agency has reported.

The Russian Pacific Fleet press service was cited.

The fleet has described the drills, which began on Friday and are due to end on Tuesday, as "defensive in nature and not directed against other countries".

Russia and China, which signed a "no-limits" strategic partnership shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, conduct regular military exercises to rehearse coordination between their armed forces and send a deterrent signal to adversaries. 

The drills come after US President Donald Trump said he had ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in "the appropriate regions" in response to remarks by former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev. 

However, as we reported yesterday, experts have played down the move, saying the subs would have already been in the relevant areas anyway. Others condemned Trump's "irresponsible" posturing. 

Seven injured and buildings almost destroyed after Russia bombs southern Ukrainian city

At least seven people have been injured and residential buildings destroyed after a Russian missile attack hit the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, the regional governor has said.

Vitaliy Kim posted photos on Telegram showing single residential buildings almost destroyed and surrounded by debris.

Some 23 private homes, 12 apartment buildings and a post office were damaged, he added. 

There has been no comment from Russia.

The Ukrainian air force, also posting on Telegram, said Russia had launched 76 attack drones and seven missiles against Ukraine overnight.

Eight Ukrainian locations had been hit, it said.

Air defence units destroyed 60 of the drones and one missile, the air force added.

Mykolaiv is in the far south of Ukraine, northwest of Crimea and not far from Odesa and Kherson. 

Blasts heard in Kyiv after Russian attacks

Russia also attacked Ukraine overnight.

A missile was launched against Kyiv, according to the military administration of the Ukrainian capital.

A loud blast was heard, shaking the city just after midnight on Sunday, witnesses told the Reuters news agency.

We will bring you more on this as we get it.

Four injured after fires started by Ukrainian drone strikes in southern Russia, governor says

Ukrainian strikes on Russia last night did not only target the Black Sea city of Sochi, according to another regional governor.

The governor of Russia's Voronezh region, in the south of the country, said this morning four people were injured in a Ukrainian drone strike there that caused several fires.

The Russian defence ministry said its units destroyed 18 Ukrainian drones over the region, which borders Ukraine. 

Nuclear watchdog confirms explosions near power plant in occupied Ukraine

We mentioned reports yesterday from the Russian management of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in occupied Ukraine, saying a civilian had been killed in Ukrainian shelling.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN's nuclear watchdog, has since confirmed there were explosions in the area on Saturday.

Blasts were reported and smoke spotted at a nearby location.

The nuclear plant's management said one of its auxiliary facilities was attacked, the IAEA said in a statement. 

"The auxiliary facility is located 1,200 metres from the ZNPP's site perimeter and the IAEA team could still see smoke from that direction in the afternoon," the nuclear watchdog said. 

Reports: Oil depot fire in Sochi after Ukrainian drone strike

An oil depot is apparently on fire in the Russian city of Sochi following reports of Ukrainian drone strikes overnight.

Striking pictures have been shared on social media, said to show an inferno at the site in the Adler area of Sochi, with a thick column of black smoke rising.

More than 120 firefighters are trying to douse the flames, according to the governor of the Krasnodar region, Veniamin Kondratyev, who posted an update early this morning on the Telegram messaging app.

The Russian news agency RIA has also reported on the blaze, saying the fuel tank on fire has a capacity of 2,000 cubic metres.

The Russian defence ministry said in its daily morning report on Telegram that its air defence units destroyed 93 Ukrainian drones overnight, including one over the Krasnodar region and 60 over the waters of the Black Sea. 

The ministry reports only how many drones its units destroy, not how many Ukraine launched. 

Rosaviatsia, Russia's civil aviation authority, temporarily halted flights at Sochi's airport to ensure air safety before saying on Telegram that flights had resumed by 3am UK time.

The reports of the strikes have not yet been independently verified by Sky News or the Reuters news agency.

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. 

The attack, which Kranodar's governor said was in the Adler district of the coastal resort city, would be Ukraine's latest on infrastructure inside Russia that Kyiv deems key to Moscow's war efforts. 

A woman was killed in the Adler district in a Ukrainian drone attack late last month, but attacks on Sochi, which hosted the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, have been infrequent during the war that Russia launched in February 2022. 

The Krasnodar region is also home to the Ilsky refinery near the city of Krasnodar, which is among the largest in southern Russia and a frequent target of Ukraine's drone attacks. 

-SKY NEWS