A Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian city of Nizhnekamsk killed 13 people, including a child, and injured 75 others on Monday, according to local authorities, marking one of the deadliest attacks inside Russia since the war began.
Nizhnekamsk, located in Russia’s central Tatarstan region approximately 1,200 kilometres east of the Ukrainian border, is a major centre for the country’s petroleum industry and has a population of about 240,000.
Ukraine’s military said its forces targeted the Taneco oil refinery in Nizhnekamsk and reported that the strike caused a fire at the facility.
Russian officials did not specify exactly what was struck. However, Nizhnekamsk is home to two oil refineries and a petrochemical plant.
The office of Tatarstan leader Rustam Minnikhanov described the incident as a “massive” drone attack that targeted industrial and civilian facilities. Authorities said a child was among the 13 people killed and declared Monday a day of mourning across the region.
The claims made by Russian and Ukrainian officials could not be independently verified.
The attack comes as Ukraine intensifies its long-range drone campaign against Russia’s energy infrastructure. Russian oil refineries and other petroleum facilities have been targeted frequently in recent months as Kyiv seeks to reduce Moscow’s refining capacity and disrupt fuel supplies.
Ukraine has increasingly demonstrated the ability to strike targets far beyond areas near the border, with domestically developed long-range drones reaching locations as far away as Siberia.
Also on Monday, Russian authorities said several Ukrainian drones caused a fire at an industrial facility in the western Siberian region of Tyumen. Regional Governor Alexander Moor provided few details about the incident.
Tyumen, located more than 2,400 kilometres from the Ukrainian border, was also targeted last month when Ukrainian drones reportedly struck an oil refinery.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has argued that attacks inside Russia are intended to increase pressure on Moscow to end its invasion and enter negotiations.
Ukraine has also targeted Russian transportation infrastructure in an effort to disrupt military supply routes. Kyiv’s Defence Ministry said its forces struck road, railway and pontoon bridges across six Russian regions last month, targeting routes used to move fuel, ammunition and reinforcements toward the front.
Ukrainian commanders say repeated attacks on those supply networks have made Russian military logistics more difficult and expensive.
Russia, meanwhile, continues its own large-scale aerial campaign against Ukraine using missiles, drones and glide bombs.
According to the United Nations office in Kyiv, 1,396 civilians were killed and 7,978 injured in Ukraine during the first six months of 2026, representing a 37 per cent increase compared with the same period last year.
The World Health Organization’s European office also reported Monday that one of its warehouses in Ukraine’s Dnipro region had been struck twice in less than 24 hours. Emergency medical supplies valued at approximately US$500,000 and intended for front-line health facilities were destroyed, though no casualties were reported.
As both countries expand their long-range strike capabilities, attacks increasingly extend far beyond the front lines, with Ukraine focusing heavily on Russia’s energy and military logistics infrastructure.
