A Ukrainian drone attack on Tatarstan in central Russia has killed at least 12 people and injured 39 others, in one of the deadliest single strikes carried out by Kyiv since the war began.
The regional government said the casualties were recorded in Nizhnekamsk, an industrial city located more than 1,000 kilometres from the Ukrainian border.
Tatarstan is a major energy-producing region and home to several oil refineries that have been targeted by Ukraine in recent months.
Unverified videos circulating on social media showed a thick column of black smoke rising from the area of an oil facility in Nizhnekamsk following the attack.
The latest strike comes amid an escalation in long-range attacks by both Russia and Ukraine, with the United Nations warning that the increase has contributed to a rise in civilian casualties.
In Ukraine, Russian forces also carried out an artillery attack on Bugaivka village in the Chuhuiv district of the northeastern Kharkiv region, killing five people.
The regional prosecutor’s office said several houses were destroyed in the attack.
“On August 10, Russian forces carried out a massive artillery strike on the residential area of the village of Bugaivka,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
A photograph released by the authorities showed a house reduced to rubble.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces intercepted 456 Ukrainian drones overnight, although it did not disclose how many drones reached their intended targets.
Tatarstan authorities had earlier described the Ukrainian assault as a “massive” drone attack.
Ukraine’s Air Force, meanwhile, said Russia launched 126 drones during its overnight attacks.
Elsewhere, a woman was killed in a Ukrainian attack in Russia’s Belgorod border region, while a man was killed when a Russian drone struck a taxi in Ukraine’s frontline Kherson region, according to local officials.
The latest attacks underline the growing reach and intensity of drone and missile strikes as the Russia-Ukraine war enters its fifth year.
