Ukrainian Drones Pummel Russian City Over 600 Miles From Front Line
Ukraine's drone and missile attacks deep inside Russia have already been a near daily occurrence, but now these projectiles are reaching further and further into Russia, often utilize Western-supplied weapon systems.
"Ukraine brought the war into the heart of Russia Saturday morning with drone attacks that local authorities said damaged residential buildings in the city of Kazan in the Tatarstan region, over 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) from the front line," The Associated Press reports Saturday.
The regional governor said that eight drones attacked the city, with anti-air defenses only able to shoot down one. The others hit residential buildings and an industrial facility.
No casualties were indicated by emergency services, but the attacks halted flights at Kazan's airport, and all public gatherings were canceled due to the threat of more possible inbound drones.
The last several days have seen deadly attacks on Rostov and Kursk regions. The several waves of assaults involved US-provided ATACMS, UK-provided Storm Shadow missiles, as well as a HIMARS attack which occurred Friday.
The Russian Defense Ministry said: "These actions by the Kiev regime supported by Western handlers won’t be left unanswered."
Dramatic video shows one drone smashing into the upper floors of high-rise building. The footage was verified by the AP:
BREAKING:
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) December 21, 2024
7 Ukrainian suicide drones have struck targets in Russia’s 5th largest city Kazan.
It’s located 700 km east of Moscow pic.twitter.com/lClxvK8iAA
President Putin has previously warned that "decision-making centers" in Kiev could be hit, but it appears that has yet to happen on any large-scale, even nearly three years into the war.
There's also the looming threat that Moscow could launch more Oreshnik hypersonic missiles armed with conventional warheads, which could do major damage. Clearly these 'options' have been largely held back thus far.