A Ukrainian drone strike killed at least 13 people and injured 75 others in Nizhnekamsk, in Russia’s Tatarstan region, local authorities said Monday, making it the deadliest attack inside Russia in more than two years.
A child was among those killed, according to Russia’s Investigative Committee, while 21 people were hospitalized, the region’s press service said. The Uzbek consulate in Tatarstan said seven of those killed were Uzbek citizens.
Nizhnekamsk is located more than 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) east of Moscow and is home to the major Taneco oil refinery. Ukraine’s Armed Forces said the refinery was targeted in the strike.
Deadliest Ukrainian Attack Inside Russia
The strike came as Russia and Ukraine intensified their aerial attacks against each other, with more drones and missiles getting through air defenses.
Ukraine’s long-range drone capabilities have improved in recent months, allowing Kyiv to strike infrastructure deep inside Russia, including oil refineries, tankers, power substations, energy infrastructure and warehouses.
Before Monday’s attack, strikes on Wildberries warehouses had been the deadliest Ukrainian attack inside Russia, killing at least eight people in a single day.
Russia’s aerial attacks on Ukraine continue to outnumber Ukrainian retaliatory strikes. Earlier this month, Russian missile attacks killed at least 17 people and injured dozens in the Kyiv region.
Russia-Ukraine Strikes Intensify
The latest attacks also affected several areas in Ukraine. In the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, seven people were killed and at least 24 injured in strikes that Ukrainian officials said involved Russian ballistic missiles. All seven people killed were employees of the Zaporizhstal metallurgical plant, which later halted operations.
One person was injured in strikes on Kyiv, where explosions were heard on the outskirts and fires broke out. Local officials later said a children’s hospital was damaged, although no one was injured.
Two women were injured in a Russian drone strike on Sumy, while another person was killed later when the city was attacked with gliding bombs. Strikes on substations in Kherson and Kharkiv also caused power outages.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also accused Russia of using North Korean missiles and said Russia was receiving military reinforcements from North Korea. He did not provide evidence to support the claim.
Zelensky said Ukraine would carry out more deep strikes against Russia, arguing that they should demonstrate the need for peace.