NAVAL DRONE STRIKES OIL TANKER OFF RUSSIAN RESORT OF SOCHI

A naval drone struck a Liberian-flagged oil tanker off the Russian resort city of Sochi, triggering a large fire and a thick cloud of black smoke over the coastline. Russia's transport ministry said crude oil was burning openly in the Black Sea and that firefighting would begin once the blaze subsided enough for rescue vessels to approach safely. The ministry said rescuers saved all 23 crew members, all Indian nationals. Local officials restricted access to Sochi's coast and beaches. Social media footage showed flames out at sea and smoke rising above the city, which has a population of around 500,000.

Some reports described the strike as a Ukrainian naval drone attack; Ukraine had not commented on the incident. Russia and Ukraine have both targeted commercial shipping in the Black Sea since the war began, and Russia has recently struck vessels carrying Ukrainian grain near Romania's coast. Russia carried out strikes on cities across Ukraine the same day, which President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described as "vile strikes" that killed at least 24 people. Russia said it had conducted a "massive strike" on Ukrainian military and industrial facilities using precision land, sea and air-launched weapons.

Bulgaria's prime minister, Rumen Radev, said drones struck two commercial vessels the same day in the first such attack inside Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea. Bulgarian authorities said they were investigating the origin of the drones. Zelenskyy blamed Russia for the strikes on the vessels linked to Bulgaria. Radev called the attack "unacceptable" after holding an emergency government meeting.