A “massive” Ukrainian drone strike on Nizhnekamsk, an industrial city about 1,200km (750 miles) from Ukraine’s border, killed at least 13 people, according to the local mayor. Ukraine’s general staff said the Taneko oil refinery was targeted as part of a campaign to reduce Russia’s “military potential.”
The reported death toll would make the raid one of the deadliest Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022, if confirmed. Russian investigators said civilian and industrial sites were hit, while Tatarstan’s head, Rustam Minnikhanov, said a drone struck a hostel and killed nine people.
What happened in Nizhnekamsk
Footage circulating online appeared to show smoke rising from the refinery, while local videos showed drones flying above apartment blocks and two columns of black smoke over an industrial area. The Taneko site, owned by Tatneft, is one of Russia’s biggest and most technologically advanced oil refineries and also includes a rubber and petrochemical plant.
The Uzbek consulate said seven victims were Uzbek citizens. Minnikhanov declared a day of mourning, and Russian prosecutors opened a criminal case over alleged “terrorism.”
Related coverage: Drone strikes kill at least 11, including children, in Russian-held and Ukrainian areas.
Why the refinery matters to Ukraine’s campaign
Kyiv has previously struck the Nizhnekamsk area, including an attack in June. Ukrainian officials say the wider campaign is intended to weaken Russia’s economy and its ability to fund the war by targeting oil infrastructure and other high-value sites far from the frontline.
In recent months, Ukrainian drones have struck Russian refineries, including facilities in Siberia as far as 2,500km from the frontline. Other reported targets have included Wildberries warehouses and oil tankers in the Sea of Azov and Black Sea.
Other reported strikes and the response
Russia’s defence ministry said it intercepted 456 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory and annexed Crimea. Ukraine says its forces are destroying Russian air-defence systems faster than they can be replaced, creating routes for deeper strikes.
More context: Deadly Russian and Ukrainian strikes deepen war’s toll.
Ukraine’s armed forces also said they hit equipment depots and a repair unit in the occupied parts of Donetsk and Luhansk. There were unconfirmed reports, attributed to Telegram channels citing Ukrainian military sources, that Russian missile-launcher systems in Kursk and Bryansk regions had been destroyed.
Separately, Ukrainian prosecutors said five people were killed in a Russian artillery strike on Bugaivka, a village in the Chuhuiv district outside Kharkiv, on Sunday.
Also read: Child among three killed in strikes around Ukraine’s capital.
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