Ukraine drone strike kills at least 13 in Russia’s Tatarstan region
Russian regional authorities said at least 13 people were killed after a Ukrainian drone attack struck Nizhnekamsk, where Kyiv said it targeted the Taneco oil refinery.
In short
- Russian regional authorities said at least 13 people were killed after a Ukrainian drone attack struck Nizhnekamsk, where Kyiv said it targeted the Taneco oil refinery.
A Ukrainian drone attack on Nizhnekamsk in Russia’s Tatarstan region killed at least 13 people on August 10, 2026, according to local Russian authorities, as Kyiv intensified long-range strikes against facilities tied to Russia’s war economy.
Ukraine’s general staff said the operation targeted the Taneco oil refinery, one of Russia’s largest and most advanced refining sites, about 1,200 kilometres from the Ukrainian border. Images and video reported from the city showed smoke rising from an industrial area, though the full extent of damage to the refinery was not immediately clear.
Rustam Minnikhanov, head of Tatarstan, said a drone struck a hostel and killed nine people. The Uzbek consulate said seven of those killed were Uzbek citizens. Russian investigators said civilian and industrial locations had been hit and opened a terrorism case. The competing accounts could not be independently reconciled.
If confirmed, the toll would make the attack one of the deadliest Ukrainian strikes inside Russia since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Ukraine has increasingly used long-range drones against Russian refineries, storage sites and other infrastructure it says supports the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy defended the campaign as a response to continuing Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities. Russia’s defence ministry said it intercepted 456 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory and occupied Crimea, a claim that was not independently verified.
The strike came amid continued attacks on both sides. Ukrainian officials said five people were killed in a Russian artillery strike near Kharkiv on August 9, while Russian-installed authorities reported power disruptions in occupied parts of south-eastern Ukraine after Ukrainian attacks.
