Ukraine carried out a major drone strike on the Russian city of Nizhnekamsk in Tatarstan, hitting an area near a major oil refinery and killing at least 13 people, according to the source material.
The attack, which took place overnight and continued into Monday morning, was described as one of the deadliest strikes inside Russia in more than two years.
Reports gave different casualty figures, with one account citing 39 injured and another citing 75. Russian authorities also reported that a child was among those killed.
Nizhnekamsk is more than 600 miles east of Moscow and is located in one of Russia’s major oil-producing and refining regions.
Ukraine has increasingly targeted Russian oil infrastructure as part of its campaign to disrupt Moscow’s energy revenues and put additional pressure on the Russian economy.
Videos circulating online appeared to show a large fire and thick smoke rising near an oil refinery in the area. Russia said it had intercepted hundreds of Ukrainian drones during the overnight attacks.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the operation, saying Ukrainian strikes against Russian oil-refining facilities would continue. He also claimed that Russian air-defense systems and radar stations were hit during the operation.
The strike highlights Ukraine’s expanding long-range drone campaign, with Ukrainian forces increasingly reaching targets hundreds or even more than 1,000 miles inside Russian territory.
