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Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
A fire erupted in the city of Kazan in Russia's Tatarstan republic overnight on Jan. 20 amid a Ukrainian drone attack on the city, Russian Telegram channels reported.
Videos posted to social media appear to show a large fire ablaze following a drone attack. Multiple explosions were reported in the city around 5:30 a.m. local time.
Reports indicate that the explosions and fire originated in the Aviastroitelny district of the city, reportedly targeting the Kazan Aviation Plant. The plant, which was sanctioned by the European Union in 2023, is known for manufacturing Tu-160 strategic and Tu-22 long-ranger bomber aircraft, among other civilian aircraft.
Russian Telegram media channels also reported that drones appear to have been targeting nearby Borisoglebskoye airfield which houses several fuel storage tanks.
Tatarstan's press service claimed that no damage had been caused as a result of the attack, adding that all the drones had been successfully downed.
The Kyiv Independent cannot immediately verify the reporting nor verify the claims made by Russian officials.
Rosaviatsiya, the country's Federal Air Transport Agency, said that Kazan International Airport has suspended flights amid the attack. Begishevo airport, located east of the city in nearby Nizhnekamsk, as well as Izhevsk's airport northeast of Kazan also had its flights suspended.
Kazan – lying over 900 kilometers (560 miles) east of the Ukrainian border – is located in the Russian republic of Tatarstan, which has previously been the target of Ukrainian drone strikes.
Ukraine has regularly attempted to disrupt Russia's military supply-chain through the use of drone attack. The country's forces regularly target oil refineries that contribute to Russia's war effort.
Overnight on Jan. 18, Ukrainian forces attacked oil depots in Russia's Tula and Kaluga oblasts, according to the General Staff and the Kyiv Independent's source in Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR).
The Kyiv Independent news desk
