At least 13 people, including a child, were killed in a Ukrainian drone strike in the central Russian region of Tatarstan. The attack, one of the deadliest carried out by Kyiv since the war began more than four years ago, targeted an oil refinery in the industrial city of Nizhnekamsk.
At least 75 people sustained injuries in the strike, with 21 among them hospitalised for treatment, the authorities said, according to AFP. In a statement following the incident, Ukraine's General Staff said it had struck the Taneko refinery, controlled by oil giant Tatneft.
“At this moment, 13 people have been killed” in the attack on Nizhnekamsk, which is located more than 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) away from the Ukrainian border, AFP cited the regional press service as saying in a statement on Monday. Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, confirmed that a child was among those killed. It said citizens of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan were also among the deceased, according to the regional government.
Large black smoke cloud at site of oil facility
Unverified footage from the alleged site where the drone struck at the oil refinery in Nizhnekamsk showed a large black cloud of smoke. Another set of unverified videos showed a massive fire at the site.
{{/usCountry}}Unverified footage from the alleged site where the drone struck at the oil refinery in Nizhnekamsk showed a large black cloud of smoke. Another set of unverified videos showed a massive fire at the site.
{{/usCountry}}HT has not independently verified the videos.
The Tatarstan region in Russia is rich in energy resources and has many major oil refineries. Kyiv has been targeting these in retaliatory strikes.
The attack comes even as both Russia and Ukraine have significantly escalated their long-range attacks, which has further led to a spike in civilian deaths, according to the United Nations. Ukraine's General Staff said the the strike was part of its campaign of “reducing the military potential of the Russian aggressor”, AFP reported.
Russian strike in Kharkiv kills five
Meanwhile, Russia too continued attacks on Ukraine on Monday, launching an artillery strikein a village in the northeastern Kharkiv region, AFP cited local Ukrainian officials as saying.
“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 in a statement on Telegram, also posting a photograph of a house reduced to rubble.
Russia's defence ministry said it had shot down 456 Ukrainian drones overnight, while Ukraine's air force said Moscow had fired 126 drones in an overnight attack.