Ukrainian Drones Kill 2 in Russia as Moscow Strikes Key Black Sea Port

KYIV – Civilians were killed and wounded overnight as Russia and Ukraine exchanged fresh waves of drone attacks.

Local officials said two people were killed in Russia’s Tatarstan region. Ukrainian authorities, meanwhile, reported Russian drone strikes on the Black Sea port of Odesa and a fire near the border crossing with Poland.

Russia has intensified its air campaign in recent weeks, deploying ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones in an effort to break through Ukraine’s defenses as Kyiv’s supplies of missile interceptors decline. Officials say Moscow has focused on Ukraine’s energy grid ahead of winter in a bid to undermine civilian morale.

Two civilians were killed and another 14 injured on Sunday when Ukrainian drones struck Nizhnekamsk in Tatarstan, the office of regional head Rustam Minnikhanov said. The victims died after a drone hit a tree near the car in which they were parked, according to the statement.

Nizhnekamsk is home to a major concentration of oil refineries and petrochemical, rubber and polymer plants, including some of Russia’s largest facilities in those industries. Mayor Radmir Belyaev said a fire had erupted “at one of the city’s enterprises,” but gave no further details.

Russian oil pipeline damaged

Ukraine’s long-range campaign has increasingly targeted Russia’s oil and gas sector, which Kyiv says finances and directly supports Moscow’s war effort. The drone strikes have led to fuel rationing in Russia, despite its status as a major oil and gas exporter. Other Ukrainian operations have hit large Russian online retailers, bringing the effects of the conflict closer to the public.

Ukraine said Sunday that it also struck a major oil refinery in Slavyansk-on-Kuban, in Russia’s Krasnodar region across from Crimea. Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence agency, known as DIU, said drones hit a key oil-processing unit and the refinery’s tank farm overnight, causing a huge fire visible from dozens of kilometers away.

Authorities in Krasnodar said the strike on “an enterprise” in Slavyansk-on-Kuban wounded three people, damaged an oil pipeline and triggered a fire. They did not directly address Ukraine’s claim that a refinery had been hit.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Sunday that its forces had downed 389 Ukrainian drones overnight over Tatarstan, other Russian regions and Russian-occupied Crimea.

Russia targets Odesa and western Ukraine

At least nine people were injured in a “massive” Russian nighttime attack on Odesa, according to Serhii Lysak, who heads the city’s military administration. The city is home to Ukraine’s main port hub on the Black Sea and has for months faced sustained drone and missile strikes, with Kyiv accusing Moscow of trying to choke off its exports.

ALSO READ: Super Bowl Winner With Tom Brady Makes Bold NFL Predictions

A Russian drone attack on Saturday struck a residential high-rise in Odesa, killing two people and injuring 26 others, Ukrainian officials said. The building’s upper floors were completely destroyed, according to regional head Oleh Kiper.

Russian strikes also pounded western Ukraine throughout the night, though there were no immediate reports of casualties. One drone struck near the Yahodyn-Dorohusk border crossing with Poland, setting fire to a petrol station, according to Ukraine’s top diplomat and a spokesperson for the local customs force.

“This is Putin’s terror ‘knocking’ directly on the doors of the EU and NATO. Russian barbarians are at your gate, dear partners,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote in a post on X.

Ukraine’s border crossings with Poland are a conduit for a large proportion of the military and humanitarian aid sent into the country by Western allies.

Valentyna Chernysh, a spokesperson for the Volyn Customs Office, told The Associated Press that the Yahodyn crossing was intact. She said no one was harmed, as the crossing was temporarily closed during the air raid alert and people were directed to shelters.

Separately, Ukraine’s state rail operator said that a Russian ​drone attacked ⁠the locomotive of a passenger train in the Volyn region, 2 km (1.2 miles) from the Polish ​border.

Ukraine’s air force said its air defenses shot down or suppressed 409 Russian drones of various types overnight, including a newer jet-powered version that is faster and more difficult to intercept. It said Russia had attacked Ukraine with 453 drones in total.

Kremlin says peace talks could restart in October

Also on Sunday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow is open to restarting peace talks in autumn featuring Russia, Ukraine and the U.S.

“We are not ruling out that possibility. We are specifically talking about the foreseeable future. That is, October cannot be ruled out,” Peskov told reporters.

Last weekend, U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, followed by a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv. Despite the latest diplomatic push, the core demands of Moscow and Kyiv remain mutually exclusive, especially over territorial concessions.