An oil tanker thought to have been part of Russia’s shadow fleet has exploded off the coast of Sochi.
Plumes of smoke can be seen for miles covering the Black Sea holiday resort on Tuesday night.
Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the blast at the time of writing.
According to Sochi Online the vessel was attacked by ‘unmanned boats’ but the port city’s authority has not yet commented.
Thick smoke has obscured the sky above the city, a playground for Russia’s wealthy, with locals told to wear masks and keep their windows shut.
Russian Telegram channels claim the ship could be the Liberia-flagged tanker Aframax Rea.
Sign up for all of the latest stories
Start your day informed with Metro's newsletter or get alerts the moment it happens.
MarineTraffic last located the ship on the Black Sea near the border of Russia and Georgia.
The ship is a large crude oil tanker and was included on Ukraine’s sanctions list as part of Russia’s shadow fleet.
The explosion came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced new sanctions packages targeting the supply of critical components and equipment for weapons production to Russia.
During the meeting, the President also heard detailed briefings on the capabilities of electronic warfare (EW) systems to protect infrastructure.
‘It is precisely this component of our defense that accounts for a significant portion of the neutralisation of Russian “suicide drones”.
‘We have set additional tasks for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and manufacturers—we are scaling up the most effective approaches,’ Zelensky said.
This is a breaking news story… More to follow…
MORE: ‘Drones’ hit cargo ship in the Black Sea sparking huge rescue mission
MORE: Moment missile strikes bridge with Russia ‘trying to slice Kyiv in two’
MORE: Russia accidentally shoots down its own £11,000,000 helicopter