At least 13 killed in Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Nizhnekamsk

At least 13 people, including a child, have been killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian city of Nizhnekamsk, authorities said, as Ukraine’s military said it carried out an attack on an oil facility in the region.

Monday’s attack in the Tatarstan region, about 800km (497 miles) east of Moscow, wounded at least 39 others, regional authorities said.

Regional head Rustam Minnikhanov denounced the attack as “barbaric” and said civilian infrastructure had been struck in a post on Telegram.

The Russian defence ministry says it intercepted more than 450 Ukrainian drones overnight, as both sides continue to exchange heavy attacks.

Nizhnekamsk plays a crucial role in Russia’s oil exports, hosting one of the country’s largest and most advanced refineries. Ukraine’s military says it successfully struck the site in an overnight attack.

Svetlana Petrenko, spokesperson for the Investigative Committee of Russia, said a child was among the dead. Petrenko added that Kyiv had struck industrial facilities and civilians “who had no connection” to the country’s military. Russia has launched a criminal investigation into the strike, which it has called a “terrorist attack”.

“A criminal case has been opened regarding the terrorist attack carried out by Ukrainian armed forces on industrial and civilian facilities in the Republic of Tatarstan,” Petrenko told reporters on Monday.

Reporting from Moscow, Al Jazeera’s Yulia Shapovalova said “a day of mourning” had been declared in Tatarstan.

“This attack follows several similar attacks on the exact same industrial zone in June and July this year,” Shapovalova said.

“Ukraine’s constant long-range drone attacks on Russian regions are designed to dismantle the country’s war economy by crippling its fuel production, disrupting military logistics and exposing gaps in domestic air defences. Today, Ukraine has carried out one of its largest coordinated long-range strikes to date.”

In Ukraine, at least five people have been killed in the country’s eastern Kharkiv region in what officials described as a “massive artillery attack” by Russian forces on a residential area.

In a statement on Telegram, the regional prosecutor’s office said the assault happened in a village in the Chuhuiv district, adding that investigations into potential war crimes were under way.

In a post on X on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said attacks on Russian oil refineries would continue and that Moscow was “beginning to feel” the consequences.

He also accused Russia of refusing to end the war and said he would speak to mediators this week to discuss peace efforts. He concluded by saying that new air defence packages would be secured in the coming days.