Ukrainian Drone Attack Kills 19 People in Russia's Belgorod and Tatarstan

Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Maria Zakharova. (Twitter/@mfa_russia)

JAKARTA - Russian authorities on Monday said 19 people were killed and 66 others were injured in two separate drone attacks by Ukraine targeting Belgorod and Tatarstan regions.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement that six civilians were killed and 27 others were injured - including children aged four and nine - in the Belgorod region, while 13 people were killed and 39 others were injured in the city of Nizhnekamsk, Tatarstan.

"On the night of August 8-9, the Kyiv neo-Nazi group, which is losing on the front lines, once again decided to vent their anger on civilians by attacking residential areas in Belgorod using drones," he said, launching Anadolu (11/8).

"On the morning of August 10, the Kyiv neo-Nazi regime sent a drone to target residential buildings and industrial facilities," he said.

Around 30 apartment buildings, social facilities, administrative and commercial buildings, and more than 30 vehicles were damaged, Zakharova said.

"We express our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims, and pray for the speedy recovery of those injured," he said.

According to Zakharova, the Russian Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case related to the terrorist attack.

"All parties involved will be identified and will face inevitable severe punishment or military retaliation," he said.

The spokesman accused Kyiv of "deliberately launching this attack that has no military value for terrorist purposes."

While strongly condemning this latest "heinous attack" by Ukraine, he demanded that members of the international community and relevant international organizations issue a strong condemnation of Kyiv's "terrorist crimes".

"We will consider silence as a form of involvement and encouragement for further attacks on Russian civilians," he said.