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At least 13 people have been killed in a Ukrainian drone strike on the Russian republic of Tatarstan, officials have said. <\/b><\/p>\n
One child was among the victims with 75 more people injured, Russian authorities said, in one of the deadliest single attacks on Russia since the start of Moscow’s full-scale war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Drones struck Nizhnekamsk, more than 1,100 kilometres (680m) from the Ukrainian border.<\/p>\n
Ukraine’s Armed Forces confirmed Nizhnekamsk’s Tanevo oil refinery had been hit, while Ukrainian defence technology manufacturer FirePoint said its FP-1 drones had been used in the attack. <\/p>\n
The strike lasted several hours overnight and into the morning, local sources say. Oil refineries in Nizhnekamsk had already been hit on 12 June. <\/p>\n
Verified images on social media show large plumes of smoke and flames rising into the sky in daytime, with air raid sirens howling in the background. <\/p>\n
Kyiv has recently stepped up its strikes on facilities it says contribute revenue and logistics to Russia’s war on Ukraine. <\/p>\n
“The facilities Ukraine targets are used to carry out attacks against Ukraine, manufacture weapons, support Russia’s war effort,” said Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Ukraine’s Centre for Countering Disinformation.<\/p>\n
Moscow confirmed industrial facilities were targeted but added residential areas were struck, too. <\/p>\n
“Civilian individuals who were not involved in any military operations were present,” Russia’s Investigative Committee said. The BBC has not independently verified this information.<\/p>\n
The head of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, confirmed the strike and shared his condolences with the families of the deceased. <\/p>\n
“This is a tremendous pain for all of us,” said Nizhnekamsk mayor Radmir Belayev.<\/p>\n
A period of mourning has been declared in Tatarstan.<\/p>\n
Ukraine’s Kovalenko said “every civilian death in Russia is on [President Vladimir] Putin” and that “Russians should direct their grievances at Putin and at the decisions made within their own country”.<\/p>\n
“Without Putin, there would have been no aggression. Without the aggression, these people would still be alive.”<\/p>\n
More than 450 Ukrainian drones were also shot down by the Russian air defences overnight, Moscow said. <\/p>\n
Kyiv has become increasingly successful at carrying out long-range strikes on Russia, often targeting warehouses or energy infrastructure, with civilian casualties mounting.<\/p>\n
Russia, meanwhile, continues to target Ukraine with regular large-scale aerial attacks on cities and residential centres. Last week, a combined drone and missile strike on Kyiv killed 21 people. <\/p>\n
And in Kharkiv, near the front line, five people were killed overnight in a Russian artillery attack.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n