Satellite images released on September 6 by Ukrainian OSINT channels “Absolutely Reliable Source” and Dnipro Osint ⟨Garbuz⟩ show that two Russian military helicopters — a Ka-52 and an Mi-28 — were destroyed at a parking area at Sochi airport during a Ukrainian drone attack on the night of September 4. A third helicopter, an Mi-8, sustained damage. The assessment of the loss of two helicopters was echoed by the Russian pro-war Telegram channel “Voenniy Osvedomitel.”
According to the same OSINT sources, the aftermath of the attack was not limited to helicopters. At a fuel depot near Sochi airport, six storage tanks were hit: two RVS-2000 tanks were destroyed, and four RVS-1000 tanks were damaged, two of them significantly.
The channel “Absolutely Reliable Source” also published an image of a radar post in Adler, claiming at least two hits on the radome protecting the radar station. Another satellite image shows an air defense position in Sirius, where, according to the analysts, two launchers and a Pantsir surface-to-air missile system of unknown modification were destroyed.
On the night of the attack, Ukrainian drone and missile manufacturer Fire Point claimed that its FP-1 drones had struck several targets in Sochi, including a Lukoil fuel depot, fuel infrastructure near Adler airport, and a position of the S-400 missile system. Some consequences of the attack were known as early as September 4: the operational headquarters of Krasnodar Krai reported a fire in Sochi and Sirius, with no casualties, and windows blown out in several homes and other buildings.
Sochi Mayor Andrei Proshunin warned against publishing photos and videos of the attack's aftermath. The Russian Defense Ministry reported that from the evening of September 3, 490 Ukrainian drones were shot down over several Russian regions, including over Krasnodar Krai. The ministry did not specify how many drones targeted the Sochi and Sirius area. The Russian side did not report losses of military equipment, damage to the radar post, the fuel depot near the airport, or the air defense position.
On September 7, according to eyewitness reports, a new fire broke out at a Rosneft fuel depot in Sochi. Before photos and videos of the new blaze appeared, no air raid alert had been declared in Sochi. One eyewitness claimed that during the day, remnants of the previous fire were still smoldering at the depot.