Russia says drone attacks on Sochi thwarted – DW – 10/14/2023

Russia has said it shot down two attack drones over the southern resort city of Sochi on the Black Sea coast.

Alexei Kopaygorodskiy, the governor of the southern Krasnodar region where Sochi is located, said on social media that the two drones were shot down at around 7:10 a.m. local time (0410 GMT) over the sea.

“There were no casualties or damage in the city,” he said, adding that the airport was working “normally” and that “the situation was under control.”

Some Russian media meanwhile reported disruptions at the airport at the time of the attack.

Ukraine has reported continued “heated” fighting around its eastern city of Avdiivka, ongoing for days.

“For the fifth day already, the enemy has not stopped either assaulting or shelling positions around the city,” Vitaliy Barabash, the head of the city, said on Ukrainian television. He described the fighting as “very heated.”

Barabash claimed that Moscow was deploying “more new forces” to the area, in an effort to surround the city.

“There is certainly no silence there at all. Shooting battles continue, both from the north and from the south of the city,” he said.

Kyiv reported intense fighting generally in the eastern regions.

Oleksandr Syrskyi, who was visiting Ukrainian troops in the area, said fighting has “significantly worsened.” He accused Russian forces of attacking around the village of Makiivka and toward the city of Kupiansk.

“The main objective of the enemy is the defeat of a grouping of our troops, the encirclement of Kupiansk and to reach the Oskil River,” he said in comments carried by an official military platform.