At least 12 people were killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on the central Russian region of Tatarstan, according to local authorities. Another 39 people were injured in the industrial city of Nizhnekamsk, officials said on Monday morning, as reported by state media. Nizhnekamsk lies about 1,600 kilometers from the border with Ukraine.
This was one of the heaviest Ukrainian single attacks since the start of Russia’s large-scale offensive against Ukraine in February 2022. The head of the republic, Rustam Minnikhanov, officially declared mourning in Tatarstan.
According to several Russian media outlets, an oil refinery in the city was hit. Videos circulated on social media showed smoke rising over a facility that appeared to be the refinery.
Authorities also reported a deadly attack in the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine. According to the latest official figures, at least six people were killed and 27 injured there by Ukrainian drone strikes. Several residential blocks, an administrative building, and shops were damaged, the region’s governor, Alexander Shuvaev, said on Telegram. Images on social media suggested several fires in the city, which lies about 30 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
There was no information on the military targets of the attack. However, Belgorod is the logistical hub for supplying Russian troops who shell the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv and attack the industrial Donbas region. That is why Belgorod is repeatedly targeted, which also affects energy supplies and other civilian facilities.
The Russian Defense Ministry had earlier said that 456 Ukrainian drones had been intercepted and destroyed overnight. The attacks were said to have targeted around 15 Russian regions and the annexed Crimean peninsula. According to Russian reports, Ukrainian drone attacks also occurred on Novorossiysk and Gelendzhik on the Black Sea.
At the same time, at least six people were injured in Russian missile strikes on the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa overnight, as city chief Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram. In Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, two people were killed and at least 21 injured.
Russia began a large-scale offensive against Ukraine in February 2022. Ukraine, in turn, repeatedly attacks targets in Russia with drones.
Source: www.spiegel.de
