At least 13 people have been killed and 75 others wounded after a Ukrainian drone strike hit the central Russian region of Tatarstan, in one of the deadliest attacks carried out by Kyiv since Russia’s full-scale invasion began more than four years ago.
The strike targeted the industrial city of Nizhnekamsk, located more than 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
The regional press service confirmed the death toll on Monday, saying 21 of the injured people had been hospitalised.
Russia’s Investigative Committee said a child was among those killed, while regional authorities said citizens of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan were also among the casualties.
Ukraine’s General Staff said its forces had struck the Taneco oil refinery, which is controlled by Russian oil giant Tatneft, as part of an ongoing campaign aimed at reducing Russia’s military capabilities.
“Reducing the military potential of the Russian aggressor,” Ukraine’s military said in describing the operation.
Unverified footage circulating on social media showed a large cloud of black smoke rising from the area of an oil facility following the attack.
Tatarstan is a major energy-producing region and home to several large oil refineries and industrial facilities that Ukraine has increasingly targeted in long-range strikes.
Both Russia and Ukraine have significantly intensified their long-range attacks this year, contributing to a rise in civilian casualties, according to the United Nations.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said it had shot down 456 Ukrainian drones launched overnight, although Russian authorities did not disclose how many drones may have reached their intended targets.
Tatarstan authorities had earlier described the incident as a “massive” Ukrainian drone attack.
Ukraine also reported a large Russian drone assault overnight, with its Air Force saying Russia launched 126 drones against Ukrainian targets.
The latest escalation came as Russia carried out deadly attacks across Ukraine.
Near the front line in the northeastern Kharkiv region, five people were killed in a Russian artillery strike on the village of Bugaivka in Chuhuiv district, Ukrainian officials said.
The regional prosecutor’s office said the attack struck a residential area and destroyed several homes.
“On August 10, Russian forces carried out a massive artillery strike on the residential area of the village of Bugaivka in the Chuguiv district,” the prosecutor’s office said.
A photograph released by the authorities showed a house reduced to rubble following the attack.
Elsewhere, a woman was reportedly killed in a Ukrainian attack in Russia’s border region of Belgorod, while a man was killed in a Russian drone strike on a taxi in the frontline Kherson region, according to local officials.
The attacks have also intensified concerns about Ukraine’s energy security ahead of another winter.
In the southern Odesa region, tens of thousands of households remained without electricity following Russian attacks on the power grid over the weekend.
Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has suffered repeated Russian strikes since the start of the war, with concerns growing in Kyiv about the country’s ability to maintain electricity, heating and water supplies during the coming winter.
Last winter, millions of Ukrainians experienced power, heating and water outages as temperatures fell as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius in some areas.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said over the weekend that Ukraine has “virtually no intact thermal power plants” following years of Russian attacks.
Ukraine is also facing shortages of critical missile interceptors as Russia has increased its use of ballistic missiles, which are more difficult to intercept.
Dozens of people have been killed in Kyiv over the past two months after Russian strikes directly hit residential buildings.
The latest attacks underscore the increasingly intense nature of the conflict, with both sides expanding their use of long-range weapons against targets far beyond the immediate front lines.
