More industrial facilities across the Russian territory were targeted by drone attacks reportedly launched by Ukraine on Tuesday.
For the first time since the unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine, industrial plants in the Republic of Tatarstan – a territory part of the Volga Federal District – were attacked by unmanned aerial vehicles.
The press service of Tatar leader Rustam Minnikhanov said on the messaging platform Telegram: “Drone attacks took place against factories in Tatarstan at Yelabuga and Nizhnekamsk.”
The attack, the statement continued, “did not cause serious damage” and the operations at the facilities “were not affected”. Several people, however were left wounded, the message added.
The press service of Alabuga, a special economic zone in the Yelabuga district, also claimed one of the dormitories housing employees in the area was hit by a drone, leaving two people wounded.
Russian Telegram channel BAZA shared a dramatic clip showing an unmanned aerial vehicle reportedly descending upon the dormitory, built in 2022, and crashing into it.
In the unverified clip, bystanders can be seen getting on the ground after a loud explosion filled the air and a massive fireball erupted from the building.
The latest drone attack on Russian factory was carried out by Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR), as reported by RBC-Ukraine and the Kyiv Independent citing a HUR source.
The attack targeted a manufacturing facility for Shahed-type attack drones, the source added.
Alabuga hosts more than 20 industrial enterprises, many of which reportedly work on chemical and mechanical engineering and metal treatment.
However, in August 2023 the Washington Post cited leaked documents claiming Russia was setting up a production line in Alabuga, aiming to produce 6,000 drones – a Russian version of the Iranian Shahed vehicles – by next summer.
On the other hand, the attack in Nizhnekamsk is believed to have been the latest targeting an oil refinery.
State news agency RIA claimed Russian electronic warfare defences intercepted a Ukrainian drone near Tatneft’s Taneco refinery, one of Russia’s biggest – with a production capacity of around 360,000 barrels a day.
The fire that erupted following the attack was extinguished in 20 minutes, the agency added, and production was not disrupted.
In recent months, Ukraine has carried out several successful attacks against Russian factories and oil refineries, in an attempt to curb the oil-processing capacity and defence production in Vladimir Putin’s country.
Tatarstan distances more than 690 miles from the Ukrainian border, making this alleged attack one of Ukraine’s deepest into Russian territory.
