Ukraine drone strike kills 12 in central Russia

MOSCOW

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out a fire following a Russian air attack in Kramatorsk, Ukraine. (AP Photo)

A Ukrainian drone strike on the central Russian region of Tatarstan killed at least 12 people in one of Kiev’s most deadly single attacks of the more than four-year war.

“According to the latest information, 12 people have been killed and 39 wounded as a result of the drone attack,” on the city of Nizhnekamsk, the regional press service said in a statement on Aug. 10.

More than 1,000 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, the region is rich in energy resources and has many major oil refineries that Kiev has been targeting in retaliatory strikes.

Unverified footage on social media showed a large black smoke cloud billowing at the site of an oil facility near the industrial city of Nizhnekamsk.

Both sides have significantly escalated their long-range attacks this year, causing a spike in civilian deaths, according to the United Nations.

Near the front line in Ukraine, a Russian artillery strike killed five people in a village in the northeastern Kharkiv region, local Ukrainian officials said.

“On Aug. 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,” regional prosecutor’s office said in a statement on Telegram.

It posted a picture of a house reduced to rubble by the attack.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it shot down 456 Ukrainian drones fired overnight. It never states how many reached their targets.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia fired 126 drones in its overnight attack.

A woman was also killed in a Ukrainian attack on the Russian border region of Belgorod, and a man was killed in a Russian drone strike on a taxi in the frontline Kherson region, officials there said.