Ukraine carried out “massive” drone strikes on several regions of Russia overnight, local officials there said on Tuesday, in what appeared to be one of the biggest recent attacks in Kiev’s campaign to cripple Russia’s war machine on home soil.
The attacks, mostly in southwestern Russia, were the latest in a series that showed Ukraine’s ability to strike deep inside the country, even as Kiev’s forces face setbacks on their own territory.
The explosions were reported in the border region of Bryansk, and drones have also targeted regions far beyond, such as Saratov and Tula in western Russia, officials in those areas said.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that Ukraine had launched more than 140 drones, along with US-made long-range missiles known as ATACMS and Britain-supplied Storm Shadow missiles.
“These actions of the Kiev regime, which are supported by Western curators, will not go unanswered,” the ministry said in a statement.
The Ukrainian military did not immediately comment on the strikes. But Ukraine’s Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security, a government agency, said seven regions in Russia were attacked and targets included military production plants as well as oil and gas facilities.
The threat forced at least six cities to restrict their airspace Tuesday morning, Russia’s Federal Aviation Agency said in a statement. Among them were the cities of Saratov and Engels, which were attacked overnight.
Two industrial plants suffered damage, Roman V. Busargin, governor of the Saratov region, wrote on Telegram. “Today, Saratov and Engels were subjected to a massive UAV attack,” he said, using another name for drones. Anti-aircraft defense eliminated a large number of targets.
It was the second time in a week that Engels, home to an airfield for some of Russia’s long-range nuclear-armed bombers, was attacked. Emergency crews only recently extinguished a large fire caused by the January 8 strike.
Mr. Busargin said that schools will be closed and classes in Engels and Saratov will be held remotely on Tuesday.
Authorities in the Tula region of western Russia similarly confirmed a drone strike that they also described as massive. Dmitry V. Milyaev, the regional governor, said air defenses shot down 16 drones and that falling debris damaged some cars and buildings. There were no victims.
And local media in Kazan, the capital of the republic of Tatarstan in southwestern Russia, reported that it had hit a tanker at a liquefied natural gas base, causing a major fire.
The head of the republic, Rustam N. Minnikhanov, wrote on Telegram that firefighters extinguished the fire and that there were no casualties or “significant damage”.
In the border region of Bryansk, which is exposed to more frequent attacks, powerful explosions were recorded. Russia’s independent media organization Astra said a chemical plant was hit; the report could not be independently verified.
The Russian Defense Ministry said it shot down 31 drones, six ATACMS and six Storm Shadow missiles targeting Bryansk.
From the beginning, Kiev’s strikes inside Russia were aimed at limiting Moscow’s ability to attack Ukrainian cities. But they have taken on added weight in recent weeks in an attempt to project strength ahead of President-elect Donald J. Trump’s inauguration next week, amid concerns that he might soften U.S. support for Ukraine.
Mr Trump has vowed to end the war quickly. Although he did not say how, many in Ukraine fear he might make concessions to Russian President Vladimir V. Putin that were red lines for Kiev.
In the run-up to Mr Trump’s inauguration on Monday, the Russian military also made a show of force. While Kiev’s drones targeted areas of Russia overnight, Moscow’s forces carried out an airstrike in Ukraine, putting much of the country on airstrike alert.
Ukraine’s air force said Tuesday morning that nearly 80 drones were involved in the attack, but that they managed to shoot down 60. Residential buildings and cars were damaged by downed drones in several regions, it added, but there were no casualties.
Natalia Novosolova and Natalija Vasiljeva contributed reporting.
