Russian authorities said a Ukrainian drone strike killed at least 13 people in the central Russian region of Tatarstan, one of Kyiv’s deadliest single attacks since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began more than four years ago.
“So far, 13 people are known to have died, including one child” in the attack on the city of Nizhnekamsk, regional authorities said on August 10.
Russia’s oil-rich republic of Tatarstan is located about 1,200 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, highlighting Ukraine’s campaign to strike targets deep inside Russian territory.
Videos shared by Telegram monitoring channels showed a large cloud of black smoke billowing from what was described as an oil facility.
An OSINT analysis by the Telegram channel ASTRA suggested that Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC, one of Europe’s largest petrochemical companies, was likely targeted in the attack on Nizhnekamsk.
The petrochemical complex is part of SIBUR, one of Russia’s largest companies, and produces rubber, plastics, and ethylene.
RFE/RL could not independently verify the reports. Ukraine has yet to confirm the attack.
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Meanwhile, authorities in Ukraine’s Sumy region said 14 people, including a child, were injured in a Russian guided-bomb attack on the city of Sumy, near the border with Russia, overnight.
Ukrainian drones also attacked Belgorod, near the Ukrainian border, over the past day, killing at least four people and injuring several others, according to the Russian officials.
Rostov Region Governor Yury Slyusar said that more than 70 drones were shot down over the region overnight, while Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that 13 drones were intercepted as they approached the capital.
Drones were also destroyed over the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula, including in Sevastopol, Moscow-imposed authorities reported.
Russian forces attacked with a Kh-59/69 guided air-launched missile, three Bandеrol loitering munitions from the airspace over the Black Sea, and 126 attack drones, Ukrainian Air Force said on August 10.
In neighboring Moldova, an explosion occurred in the Stefan Voda district, some 80 kilometrs southeast of Chisinau, on August 9. Law enforcement officers at the scene found fragments of a combat drone.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu strongly condemned what she described as the latest Russian violation of Moldova’s airspace.
“This is a direct consequence of Russia’s war, and it endangers us all. The risk to human life in our region is real and growing. It must stop,” she wrote on X on August 10.
With the civilian casualty toll rising, Pope Leo has called for an end to the war in Ukraine, saying that said innocent people are being killed and wounded.
“Tragic incidents are multiplying, causing an ever-growing number of civilian victims, including children,” the pontiff said before worshippers gathered for Sunday’s prayer in Vatican on August 9.
“I renew my heartfelt appeal for international humanitarian law to be respected and for attacks against civilian targets to cease on both sides,” the pope added.
