Ukraine kills 13 in drone attack on Russian city of Nizhnekamsk

A Ukrainian drone strike on the Russian city of Nizhnekamsk resulted in the deaths of at least 13 people, including a child, and left 75 injured, according to local authorities. The attack targeted the Tatneft TANECO oil refinery in the Tatarstan region, approximately 800 kilometers east of Moscow. Russian officials have launched a criminal investigation into the incident, describing it as a terrorist attack that struck both industrial and civilian targets.

The head of Russia's Tatarstan region, Rustam Minnikhanov, declared a period of mourning, while the mayor of Nizhnekamsk, Radmir Belyayev, confirmed the civilian casualties in a statement.

The TANECO refinery, which processed 17 million tons of crude oil in 2024, producing 2.7 million tons of gasoline and 8.5 million tons of diesel fuel, was damaged in the attack. A fire was reported at the facility following the strike. Social media videos showed smoke billowing over the refinery. In June, Ukraine had previously targeted the same refinery.

Ukraine has intensified its attacks on Russian oil refineries in recent months, causing fuel shortages throughout Russia. However, authorities claim most of the initial problems have since been resolved. Ukraine aims to make the consequences of Russia's war felt by ordinary Russians. In response, Moscow accused Ukraine of carrying out lethal attacks, with three people killed and 37 wounded in a Russian strike on an apartment block in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.

Additionally, Russian authorities reported five killed and 25 wounded in a Ukrainian drone attack in Russia's Belgorod region.

Both sides have accused each other of targeting civilians, despite claiming they do not specifically target non-combatants. In Ukraine's southern Odesa region, tens of thousands of households remain without power following a Russian attack on the power grid over the weekend. Concerns are mounting in Kyiv over the upcoming winter, as the energy network continues to recover from four years of Russian strikes.

Last winter, millions were left without heating and water for hours as temperatures plummeted to -20°C. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that his country has virtually no functional thermal power plants following the Russian attacks. Kyiv is also facing a shortage of vital missile interceptors as Russia escalates its attacks with harder-to-intercept ballistic missiles.