Editor’s note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
Explosions have been reported in occupied Donetsk and the Russian city of Sochi amid alleged drone attacks overnight on Oct. 17.
“An air defense system is active in Sochi. An attack by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is being repelled,” Sochi Mayor Andrei Proshunin said.
Ukraine’s army regularly strikes military infrastructure within occupied territories and deep within Russia in an attempt to diminish Moscow’s fighting power as it continues to wage its war against Ukraine.
In Donetsk, a Russian ammunition depot was hit in a drone attack, with fires and explosions reported in the occupied city.
A map showing Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast as of 2025. (The Kyiv Independent)
Ukrainian authorities have not commented on the attacks, and the Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the claims.
Sochi sits on Russia’s Black Sea coast and is located about 310 kilometers (193 miles) from Ukraine and approximately 538 kilometers (334 miles) from Ukrainian-controlled territory near Orikhiv in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
Overnight on Oct. 16, Ukrainian drones struck an oil refinery in Russia’s Saratov Oblast, Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces (SSO) confirmed.
Meanwhile, an electrical substation in Russia’s Volgograd Oblast was in flames following a reported Ukrainian drone strike the same night, regional Governor Andrey Bocharov said the morning of Oct. 16.
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