At least 13 people have been killed and 75 others injured after a Ukrainian drone strike hit Russia’s Tatarstan region, in one of the deadliest attacks carried out by Kyiv since the war began more than four years ago.
The strike targeted an oil refinery in the industrial city of Nizhnekamsk, more than 1,000 kilometres from Ukraine’s border.
“At this moment, 13 people have been killed,” Tatarstan’s regional press service said on Monday, adding that 21 of the 75 wounded had been hospitalised.
Ukraine’s General Staff said it had struck the Taneco refinery, operated by oil giant Tatneft, as part of its campaign of “reducing the military potential of the Russian aggressor”.
Unverified footage shared on social media appeared to show a large black cloud of smoke rising from an oil facility.
Russia’s Investigative Committee said a child was among those killed. Regional authorities also said citizens of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan were among the victims.
Tatarstan, a major energy-producing region, is home to several large oil refineries that Ukraine has increasingly targeted as part of retaliatory strikes against Russia’s energy infrastructure.
The latest attack comes as both Russia and Ukraine have significantly intensified their long-range strikes this year, contributing to a rise in civilian deaths, according to the United Nations.
Deadly strikes across Ukraine and Russia
Russia also launched deadly attacks on Ukraine on Monday.
In the northeastern Kharkiv region, five people were killed when Russian forces carried out what local officials described as a “massive artillery strike” on the residential area of Bugaivka in the Chuhuiv district.
“On August 10, Russian forces carried out a massive artillery strike on the residential area of the village of Bugaivka in the Chuguiv district. Various houses were destroyed as a result of the enemy attack. Five people were killed,” the regional prosecutor’s office said.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces had shot down 456 Ukrainian drones overnight, although it did not say how many drones reached their intended targets.
Ukraine’s Air Force, meanwhile, said Russia launched 126 drones during its overnight attack.
A woman was also killed in a Ukrainian strike in Russia’s border region of Belgorod, while a man was killed when a Russian drone struck a taxi in the frontline Kherson region, according to local officials.
In southern Ukraine, tens of thousands of households in Odesa remained without electricity after Russian attacks damaged the power grid over the weekend.
The damage has heightened concerns in Kyiv ahead of winter, with Ukraine’s energy infrastructure still severely weakened after years of Russian strikes.
Last winter, millions of Ukrainians experienced power, heating and water cuts as temperatures fell as low as -20C.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned over the weekend that his country has “virtually no intact thermal power plants” following the Russian attacks.
Kyiv is also facing shortages of vital missile interceptors as Russia has stepped up attacks using ballistic missiles that are difficult to intercept.
Dozens of people have been killed in Kyiv over the past two months in direct strikes on residential apartment buildings.
