Ukrainian drones struck residential buildings in the Russian city of Kazan, more than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from the front line, plunging the war into central Russia.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the city, located about 800 kilometers east of Moscow, was attacked by three waves of drones between 7:40 a. m. and 9:20 a. m. (04:40 and 06:20 GMT) on Saturday. .
Eight drones were used in the attack, according to the press service of the Tatarstan regional government. Six hit residential buildings, one hit a commercial establishment and another was shot over a river.
The local government said there were no casualties. Ukraine acknowledged the attack in accordance with its security policy.
The Kazan airport temporarily halted flight arrivals and departures, Russia’s aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia said via Telegram.
The incident comes amid growingly brazen attacks after Russia’s President Vladimir Putin proposed a “high-tech duel” with Kyiv during his end-of-year news conference on Thursday, suggesting he would test his claims that Russia’s new hypersonic ballistic missile was impervious to air defences.
At least one user was killed and seven injured after Russian Hyusric missiles hit Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, on Friday.
Ukraine targeted the town of Rylsk in Russia’s Kursk border region on the same day, deploying United States-supplied missiles in an attack that killed six people, including a child.
Ukrainian officials said Moscow sent 113 drones into Ukraine overnight into Saturday, 57 of which were shot down. Another 56 drones were “lost,” likely having been electronically jammed.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia also fired one S-400 missile at central Ukraine but that there was no damage from it.
Moscow launches near-strikes with dozens of drones against Ukraine in an attempt to exhaust its air defenses.
Russia is also continuing its battle to take control of the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. On Saturday, the defence ministry claimed its troops captured the village of Kostiantynopolske, called Ostrovsky by Russia.
The settlement is 10 kilometers southwest of Kurakhov, which Russian troops have stormed and are threatening to encircle, according to DeepState, a Ukrainian organization that maps the fighting.