Russia's Putin vows to 'destroy' Ukraine after Kazan drone attack | Russia-Ukraine war News

Russia has accused Ukraine of a 'massive' drone strike that hit a luxury home in the city, about 1,000km (620 miles) from the border.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed to retaliate after Ukrainian warplanes crashed into residential buildings in the city of Kazan in Russia's Tatarstan region.

Putin said this via video link on Sunday when he spoke to a local Tatarstan leader at the opening ceremony of the road.

“Whoever, no matter how much they try to destroy, they will face repeated destruction and they will regret what they tried to do to our country,” Putin said.

On Saturday morning, six Ukrainian drones crashed into residential buildings in Kazan and a seventh crashed into an industrial area. No injuries were officially reported, and media reports indicated that three people suffered broken window glass.

Videos on Russian social media showed the drones hitting a glass high-rise building and setting off fireballs, although casualties were reported as a result of the strike.

Kazan is over 1,000km (600 miles) from the Ukrainian border. Although Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the attack, it is seen as a response to a Russian missile strike against Kyiv.

Putin has threatened to target the center of Kyiv with a hypersonic ballistic missile in response to Ukraine's attack on Russian territory.

Putin's threat comes as Russia seeks new developments on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine.

The Ministry of Defense said in Telegram that its troops “liberated” the villages of Lozova in the northeast of Kharkiv region and Krasnoye – called Sontsivka in Ukraine.

The latter is close to the resource base of Kurakhove, which Russia has almost surrounded and could be a key prize in Moscow's bid to capture the entire Donetsk region.

Russia has accelerated its advance across Ukraine in recent months, looking to secure as much territory as possible before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.

The republic has promised an immediate end to the three-year conflict, without proposing any concrete terms for a ceasefire or a peace deal.

Moscow's military says it has seized more than 190 Ukrainian settlements this year, while Kyiv is struggling to hold the line amid shortages of manpower and ammunition.