Russia’s Putin pledges ‘destruction’ on Ukraine after Kazan drone attack

Russia accuses Ukraine of ‘massive’ drone attack that hit a luxury apartment block in the city, some 1,000km (620 miles) from the frontier.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has pledged retaliation after Ukrainian drones struck residential buildings in the city of Kazan in Russia’s Tatarstan region.

Putin made the comments via videolink on Sunday while addressing the local leader of Tatarstan in a road-opening ceremony.

“Whoever, and however much they try to destroy, they will face many times more destruction themselves and will regret what they are trying to do in our country,” Putin said.

On Saturday morning, six Ukrainian drones hit residential buildings in Kazan and a seventh struck an industrial facility. No injuries from the attack were officially reported, while media reports indicated that three people suffered cuts from shattered window glass.

A view shows a damaged multistorey residential building following an alleged Ukrainian drone attack in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, in Kazan, Russia [Reuters]

Videos on Russian social media networks showed drones hitting a high-rise glass building and setting off fireballs, though there were no reported casualties as a result of the strike.

Kazan is more than 1,000km (600 miles) from the Ukrainian border. Although Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the attack, it is considered a response to a Russian missile strike against Kyiv.

Putin has previously threatened to target the centre of Kyiv with a hypersonic ballistic missile in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory.

Putin’s threat comes as Russia claimed new advances on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine.

The Ministry of Defence said on Telegram that its troops had “liberated” the villages of Lozova in the northeastern Kharkiv region and Krasnoye – called Sontsivka in Ukraine.

The latter is close to the resource hub of Kurakhove, which Russia has almost encircled and would be a key prize in Moscow’s attempt to capture the entire Donetsk region.

Russia has accelerated its advance across eastern Ukraine in recent months, looking to secure as much territory as possible before US President-elect Donald Trump comes to power in January.

The Republican has promised to bring a swift end to the nearly three-year-long conflict, without proposing any concrete terms for a ceasefire or peace deal.

Moscow’s army claims to have seized more than 190 Ukrainian settlements this year, with Kyiv struggling to hold the line in the face of manpower and ammunition shortages.