Early Saturday, two Russian airports were placed under flight restrictions following allegations of a Ukrainian drone attack, as reported by state-run news agencies. The RIA Novosti agency indicated that Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency implemented a temporary ban on landings and takeoffs at Kazan International Airport and imposed restrictions at Gagarin Airport in Saratov, both located in the southwest of Russia.
Kazan is situated over 600 miles from the nearest Ukrainian-controlled area, while Saratov is more than 350 miles away from such territory. According to the press service of Tatarstan's regional head, which oversees Kazan, authorities recorded eight drones targeting the city, although no casualties were reported, as per the state-run Tass news agency.
The press service detailed that one drone was spotted over an industrial site, another over a river, and six in residential areas. Kazan's Mayor, Ilsur Metshin, noted that fires had broken out in homes across three districts and announced selective evacuations of schools deemed necessary, according to Tass.
Rustam Minnikhanov, head of Tatarstan, stated on Telegram that the region faced "a massive UAV attack" and emphasized that all available resources were being mobilized. "The most important thing is not to panic," he added, instructing the government to keep the public informed about evacuation locations.
Russia's Defense Ministry reported that it intercepted six Ukrainian drones over Kazan, claiming they approached in three waves from different directions. Three drones were shot down, while three others were neutralized using electronic warfare tactics. Overall, the ministry stated it had downed 19 Ukrainian drones across Russian territory.
In response, Ukraine's air force reported that Russia launched 113 drones targeting Ukraine overnight, with air defense teams successfully shooting down 57. An additional 56 drones went missing due to "active countermeasures" by Ukrainian forces.
On Saturday morning, air raid sirens were activated across Ukraine as the air force warned of a "threat of ballistic weapons" targeting the entire country. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that recent strikes had destroyed an oncology center in Kherson and damaged apartment buildings in Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia. Kyiv was also targeted by ballistic missiles, with shelling reported in Sumy, Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk region, and Donetsk region.
Officials reported seven injuries in Zaporizhzhia and six in Kharkiv. "This is the Russian terror we are countering," Zelenskyy stated on X. He expressed gratitude to Ukraine's partners for their continued support and urged collective strength to achieve lasting peace.
These attacks followed a combined missile and drone strike on Kyiv early Friday, which caused significant damage to buildings in the city center and resulted in at least one fatality, according to the Kyiv City Military Administration. The strike also impacted several foreign embassies, with Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tkhiyi condemning it as "barbaric."
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