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A wave of Ukrainian drone attacks targeted the capital of the republic of Tatarstan early Saturday, regional authorities said, damaging several residential buildings and forcing the closure of at least two nearby airports.
Tatarstan regional head Rustam Minnikhanov described the attack as unprecedented in its scope and said emergency teams had evacuated residents of the impacted buildings, set up temporary shelters and provided them with hot meals.
“Today, Kazan faced a mass drone attack. Whereas industrial facilities were previously targeted, now the enemy attacks peaceful civilians, striking homes in the morning,” he wrote in a message posted on Telegram.
Russia’s Defense Ministry blamed the attack on Ukraine, accusing Kyiv of deploying fixed-wing drones in three waves between 7:40 a.m. and 9:20 a.m. “Air defenses destroyed three drones, while three others were neutralized using electronic warfare systems,” the ministry said.
Kazan, located around 700 kilometers (435 miles) east of Moscow, has previously come under attack from drones. However, Saturday’s strikes mark the first time they appear to have directly targeted residential buildings in the city.
Among the buildings attacked Saturday was the Manhattan housing complex, according to state media reporters. So, too, was the Lazurny Nebes residential high-rise, where a blaze broke out before firefighters eventually managed to extinguish it.
Videos shared on social media showed at least one drone crashing into the Lazurny Nebes, which is located on the east side of Kazan near a horse racing track. During that attack, the high-rise was already visibly damaged and smoke was billowing from its windows, suggesting at least one drone had already struck the building.
According to the state-run TASS news agency, a total of eight Ukrainian drones struck residential buildings in Kazan, while another attempted to hit an industrial site but missed its target. Workers at industrial plants in the Tatarstan capital were evacuated as a precaution, the news agency added.
Officials said there were no fatalities or injuries, although unconfirmed reports from Telegram news channels suggested at least three people sustained minor injuries, primarily from shattered glass.
