Ukraine fired missiles and drones at factories and energy facilities across Russia early on Tuesday, sparking fires hundreds of kilometers from the front line, a source in Ukraine's SBU security services said.
Russia's military accused Kyiv of using Western-supplied missiles in the overnight attacks and promised that the strikes would "not go unanswered."
The barrage forced schools in the southern Saratov region to suspend in-person classes, while at least nine airports in central and western Russia temporarily halted traffic, according to Russian officials.
Explosions rocked "chemical plants, oil refineries and warehouses" in Russia, a source in Ukraine's SBU security services told AFP, adding that Kyiv struck "Russian military-industrial complex" sites.
Among the targets hit early on Tuesday were chemical plants in the western regions of Tula and Bryansk, the source added. In the Saratov region, more than 600 kilometers (372 miles) southeast of Moscow, Kyiv struck an oil refinery and an arms depot.
Saratov region Governor Roman Busargin said the scale of the attack was "massive." Schools in the cities of Saratov and Engels will hold classes online on Tuesday because of the attacks, he added.
Firefighters had only the day before managed to put out a blaze at an oil depot in the city of Engels, which was hit by a Ukrainian drone strike last week.
In the republic of Tatarstan, a drone struck a gas storage tank, sending flames and thick smoke billowing toward the sky near the city of Kazan, according to media and the regional government.
Local media said a liquefied gas storage base was hit and published images showing flames and black smoke.
Russia's Defense Ministry said it shot down six U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles and six British Storm Shadow cruise missiles that Ukraine fired at the Bryansk border region.
Ukraine's army had earlier claimed a "successful" missile hit on a chemical plant in the region that makes rocket fuel and explosives for the Russian military.
"Drones successfully distracted Russian air defenses, paving the way for missiles that hit the main targets," the Ukrainian military's Unmanned Systems Forces said, confirming a hit on a plant near the town of Seltso, more than 100 kilometers from the border.
Ukraine regularly targets military and energy sites in Russia, part of what it calls "fair" retaliation for Russia's repeated barrages of its energy grid since Moscow invaded in February 2022.
"Each damaged ammunition depot, oil refinery, oil depot or chemical plant is a painful blow to Russia's ability to wage war in Ukraine," the SBU source said.
One Ukrainian blogger, who goes by the name of Nikolayevski Vanyok, said on Telegram that the overnight barrage on Russia was "probably one of the most effective" of the war, reaching places "that usually don't get many strikes."
Ukraine's air force said separately that its air defense systems had downed 58 Iranian-designed drones launched by Russia, while another 21 were destroyed with electronic interference systems or crashed.
A Ukrainian official in the Kharkiv region meanwhile said on Tuesday morning that a 52-year-old resident of the town of Kozachya Lopan had been killed by Russian artillery fire.
The overnight Ukrainian attacks come at a difficult moment for Kyiv's forces along the front line, particularly in the eastern Donetsk region.
City authorities in Pokrovsk, Russia's main target in the region, repeated a call on Tuesday for remaining residents to flee the town, where around 60,000 people lived before Russia invaded in February 2022.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
