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Moscow — At least 13 people were killed, including a child, and 39 injured in a Ukrainian drone attack on industrial and civilian targets in the city of Nizhnekamsk, authorities said on Monday, one of the heaviest civilian tolls in Russia in months. The attack in the Tatarstan region, about 800km east of Moscow, also hit a major oil refinery, according to Russian media reports. Russian investigators said they had opened a criminal case into what they qualified as a terrorist attack, saying in a statement that Ukraine had struck residential areas and that a child was among those civilians killed. The head of Russia’s Tatarstan region, Rustam Minnikhanov, has declared a period of mourning, Nizhnekamsk mayor Radmir Belyayev said in a statement on Telegram. Oil refineryThe region’s oil refinery, one of Russia’s most technologically advanced, was hit in the attack, Russian media reported. In unverified videos on social media, smoke can be seen rising over what appears to be an oil refinery. Reuters was unable to independently verify the footage. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Smoke rises from an oil refinery after what authorities said was a Ukrainian drone attack, in Nizhnekamsk, Russia, on August 10 2026. Picture: (Social Media) Tatneft’s Taneco refinery, which was also hit by Ukraine in early June, processed 17-million tonnes of crude oil in 2024, producing 2.7-million tonnes of petrol and 8.5-million tonnes of diesel. Ukraine has stepped up its strikes on Russian oil refineries in recent months in a campaign that has caused fuel shortages in many parts of Russia, though authorities said that most of the initial problems have since been resolved. Moscow imports fuelUkraine said it wants to bring the price of Russia’s war home to ordinary Russians. Moscow has imported fuel from overseas to help bolster supplies. On Sunday, both sides accused each other of lethal attacks. Three people were killed and 37 wounded in a Russian attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, where a multi-storey apartment block was hit, while authorities in Russia’s Belgorod said five were killed and 25 wounded by a Ukrainian drone attack. Ukraine and Russia have repeatedly said they do not target civilians. Meanwhile, Pope Leo on Sunday said innocent people are being killed and wounded in Ukraine and Russia and called for an end to the conflict.BREAKING: A Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian city of Nizhnekamsk killed 12 people and wounded 39 others, authorities in the Tatarstan region said. The city is roughly 1,200 kilometers east of the Ukrainian border and is home to an oil refinery. https://t.co/pkKTBn3XZx— The Associated Press (@AP) August 10, 2026 “Tragic incidents are multiplying, causing an ever-growing number of civilian victims, including children,” the pontiff said before worshippers gathered for Sunday’s Angelus prayer.“I renew my heartfelt appeal for international humanitarian law to be respected and for attacks against civilian targets to cease on both sides,” the pope added.More than 16,000 civilians have been killed in nearly 4½ years of fighting, according to the UN, the overwhelming majority of them Ukrainian.The UN human rights office said in July civilian injuries and deaths had increased by more than a third in Ukraine in the first half of the year, driven by rising numbers of drone attacks.
