UPDATE ON THE SITUATION – Earlier this morning, Ukrainian drones damaged buildings and prompted evacuations in the central Russian city of Kazan.
Ukrainian drones damaged buildings this Saturday morning, December 21, and caused evacuations in Kazan, a city in central Russia about 1,000 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, local officials said, indicating that no casualties were reported. hour to deplore.
For its part, Russia claims the capture of a Ukrainian village near the town of Kurakhové. Le Figaro takes stock of the situation.
Moscow claims capture of village in key area of eastern Ukraine
The Russian army claimed Saturday the capture of a Ukrainian village near the town of Kurakhové, an area of eastern Ukraine in which its soldiers have been advancing in recent months.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that its troops had “liberated” Kostiantynopolské, some eight kilometers southwest of the industrial city of Kurakhové, which Moscow's army seems close to seizing.
Ukrainian drones damage buildings in central Russia
“Today Kazan suffered a massive drone attack”Rustam Minnikhanov, the leader of the Republic of Tatarstan where the city is located, said on Telegram. “If earlier industrial enterprises were attacked, now the enemy attacks civilians in the morning, directly in their homes”he wrote. Residents were evacuated, according to local authorities, but their number is not known. Rustam Minnikhanov's press service indicated that eight drones had been recorded, and that no casualties had yet been reported.
The Kazan town hall announced that these attacks had caused “fires” in several neighborhoods, and that firefighters were on site. Videos, published on social networks and in Russian media, show drones hitting several tall buildings and creating impressive fireballs.
The Russian Defense Ministry accused Ukraine of having targeted “civil infrastructure” in Kazan. The ministry said six drones may have been neutralized or destroyed, but did not specify their total number or whether any aircraft had reached their targets.
Kazan, on the banks of the Volga, has repeatedly suffered drone attacks from Ukraine targeting industrial sites linked to the army. The city is located about 700 kilometers east of Moscow.
Ukraine has so far said nothing about these attacks that Russia attributes to it. The country regularly carries out drone and missile attacks, in retaliation for the assault launched by Moscow against its territory in February 2022.
On Friday, Russian strikes left one dead and 13 injured in kyiv, according to Ukrainian authorities. At the end of the day, five more people died in a Ukrainian attack on the Russian border region of Kursk, according to the local governor.
