Ukrainian drones hit high-rise buildings in Russia today, presenting a chilling resemblance to the 9/11 attack in the US when planes rammed the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre in New York in 2001.
In unverified videos shared on X, aerial objects were seen flying into two skyscrapers in Kazan, a city some 500 miles (800 km) east of Moscow. The strikes on the high-rises – believed to be residential complexes – set off massive balls of fire that left a plume of black smoke.
The moment when drones hit high-rise buildings in Kazan after the deployment of the russian electronic surveillance system.
The russians started the war – hence – no pity for the orcs. pic.twitter.com/JbXLTbFslm— Jürgen Nauditt 🇩🇪🇺🇦 (@jurgen_nauditt) December 21, 2024
As per reports, all the residents of the building were safely evacuated and no casualties were reported.
An alert was sounded and the city’s airport temporarily halted flight arrivals and departures after the attack, according to Russian media. Kazan, the capital of the Tatarstan republic, has a population of more than 1.3 million.
“Today Kazan suffered a massive drone attack. While before industrial enterprises were attacked, now the enemy attacks civilians in the morning,” Rustam Minnikhanov, the Tartarstan republic leader, said in a post on Telegram.
Ukraine has yet to comment on the strikes.
The city had been attacked by three waves of drones between 7.40 am and 9.20 am (0440 and 0620 GMT), Russia’s Defence Ministry said. It said six drones had been neutralised or destroyed but did not say how many had been involved.
Authorities said that all major public events in Tartarstan had been cancelled as a precaution.
Russia’s aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia said said it was also introducing temporary restrictions at two other airports, in Izhevsk, a smaller city northeast of Kazan, and in Saratov, which lies some 400 miles (650 km) south of Kazan. The restrictions at Saratov were later lifted.
A similar incident was reported from Russia’s Saratov in August this year when a drone was seen striking a residential building. Four people were injured in the attack.
The deadly 9/11 attacks saw nearly 3,000 people killed after hijacked planes rammed into the Twin Towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, with another crashing in a Pennsylvania field.
Saturday’s strikes by Ukraine comes weeks after Russia said there were no grounds yet for negotiations on how to bring the war to an end.
In late November, Reuters reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin was open to discussing a ceasefire deal in Ukraine with Trump and could agree to freeze the conflict along the front line. Russian forces control about 20 percent of Ukraine’s territory and have been advancing lately at the fastest pace since the early days of the war.
But the Kremlin has said repeatedly it will not negotiate with President Volodymyr Zelensky unless Ukraine renounces its ambition to join NATO and withdraws troops from territories now controlled by Russian troops.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The war has left tens of thousands of dead, displaced millions and triggered the biggest crisis in relations between Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
