Ukraine brought the war into the heart of Russia early Saturday with drone strikes that local officials said damaged residential buildings in the city of Kazan in the Tatarstan region, about 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) from the front line. Tatarstan Governor Rustam Minnikhanov’s press service said eight drones attacked the city. Six residential buildings, one industrial facility were hit, and one shot over a river, the statement said.
A video posted on local Telegram news channel Astra, verified by The Associated Press, shows a drone flying over the top floors of a high-rise building. The local administration said there were no casualties. Flights were suspended at Kazan’s airport and all mass gatherings were canceled on Saturday and Sunday.
The attacks, which Ukraine does not recognize as part of its security policy, came after six people, including a child, were killed in a Ukrainian attack on a town in Russia’s Kursk border region on Friday using a US-supplied missile.
Moscow sent 113 drones into Ukraine on Saturday night, Ukrainian officials said. According to the Air Force of Ukraine, 57 drones were shot down during the attack. An additional 56 drones were “lost,” possibly jammed electronically.
The governor of Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, Oleh Sinehubov, said eight people were injured in a drone attack in the regional capital Kharkiv on Friday night.
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