NIZHNEKAMSK, Russia — A Ukrainian drone strike on the Russian city of Nizhnekamsk killed at least 13 people, including a child, and wounded 39 others, Russian authorities said, in one of the heaviest civilian death tolls from an attack inside Russia in months.
The attack on Monday struck residential areas as well as the TANECO oil refinery operated by Tatneft in Tatarstan, about 800 km (500 miles) east of Moscow, according to Russian officials and Ukraine's military. Ukraine said its forces had targeted the refinery, where a fire was reported.
Russian investigators opened a criminal case that classified the incident as a terrorist attack, saying civilians had been killed when residential areas were struck. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Kyiv of deliberately attacking civilians and said industrial facilities and residential buildings had been hit. Ukraine and Russia have both repeatedly denied intentionally targeting civilians.
The death toll included several Central Asian nationals. The Uzbek consulate in Kazan said seven Uzbek citizens were among those killed, while Russian state media reported that a Tajik citizen was also among the victims. Russian officials said nine of the 13 people killed were in a hostel when the attack occurred, although that detail could not immediately be independently verified.
The TANECO refinery, one of Russia's significant oil-processing facilities, was also targeted by Ukraine in June. It processed about 17 million metric tons of crude oil in 2024, producing millions of tons of gasoline and diesel, according to refinery data cited by Reuters.
Ukraine has increasingly used long-range drones against Russian oil refineries and other energy infrastructure as Kyiv seeks to disrupt supplies and raise the economic costs of Moscow's war effort. Russian authorities have reported fuel shortages in some regions, although they have said many of the initial supply problems have eased.
The Nizhnekamsk strike came amid a broader escalation of attacks on both sides. Russian authorities also reported five people killed and 25 wounded in a Ukrainian drone attack on the Belgorod region, while Ukrainian officials said a Russian attack on Kharkiv killed three people and wounded 37.
Russian authorities have continued investigating the Nizhnekamsk attack, while Ukraine has maintained that strikes on Russian energy infrastructure form part of its campaign against facilities supporting Moscow's war effort.
