Ukrainian drone strike kills 13 inside Russia, authorities say, in deadliest attack in two years

By Issy Ronald and Svitlana Vlasova, CNN

(CNN) — A Ukrainian drone strike has killed at least 13 people and injured 39 others in Nizhnekamsk, a city deep inside Russia, local authorities said Monday, marking the deadliest attack to hit the country in more than two years.

Nizhnekamsk, which lies more than 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) east of Moscow, is the site of a major, technologically advanced oil refinery, similar to those which Ukraine has frequently targeted in recent months.

Videos circulating on social media, and geolocated by CNN, show a huge blaze raging and plumes of smoke rising from an area just outside the city, close to what appear to be the characteristic towers of an oil refinery. It isn’t clear exactly what was struck in the attack.

The strike comes as both Russia and Ukraine intensify their aerial attacks against one another, while the frontlines of the war largely stagnate. More drones and missiles are slipping through both sides’ fraying air defenses, meaning that the civilian death toll has increased, and more critical infrastructure is being damaged. June was the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians since April 2022, as 1,396 were killed and 7,978 were injured, the UN said recently.

A child was among those killed in Nizhnekamsk, according to the Russian Investigative Committee. And another four people were killed over the last 24 hours in the Russian region of Belgorod, which borders Ukraine, the region’s acting governor Alexandr Shuvayev said Monday.

As Ukraine’s long-range drone technology has improved in recent months, it has demonstrated a newfound ability to frequently strike infrastructure deep inside Russia, like oil refineries, tankers, power substations and broader energy infrastructure as well as warehouses belonging to Russia’s largest online retailer, Wildberries.

Attacks on Wildberries’ warehouses last month killed at least eight people in a single day which, up until Monday’s strike on Nizhnekamsk, was the deadliest Ukrainian attack inside Russia.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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CNN’s Anna Chernova and Lauren Kent contributed reporting.