At least seven Ukrainian drones attacked Kazan, Russia’s fifth largest city, early on Saturday morning, according to Telegram channel Baza, injuring at least three people, pro-Kremlin Telegram channel SHOT reported.
Two of the drones targeted a 37-storey apartment building in the city, which is the capital of Tatarstan, striking it twice within one hour, Telegram news channel Ostorozhno Novosti reported on Saturday. Tatarstan’s Premier Alexey Pesoshin visited the damaged building on Saturday, according to state-owned news agency TASS.
Drones also struck another residential building in the city, which is in Russia’s Volga region and over 1,000km from the Ukrainian border, with independent news outlet ASTRA reporting that local residents had heard three explosions. ASTRA also shared video footage apparently showing a drone crashing into the roof of another four-storey apartment building in the city.
Kazan’s airport was temporarily closed to all flights “to ensure flight safety,” according to Rosaviatsia, Russia’s civil aviation authority, while local schools were also evacuated, state-affiliated business news outlet RBC said.
Ukrainian drones first attacked targets in Tatarstan in April, when 13 people were injured in a strike on a dormitory, which was at the time believed to be the longest-range drone strike yet carried out by Ukraine on targets in Russia.