Ukraine struck several targets deep inside Russia on Tuesday in what it said was its “most massive” attack of the war so far.
Ammunition depots and chemical plants were hit in several regions, some hundreds of kilometers from the border, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Sources in Ukraine's SBU intelligence agency told the BBC that the overnight raid was a “painful blow” to Russia's ability to wage war.
Russia said it took down US-supplied Atacms missiles as well as UK-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles and vowed to respond to the attack.
At least nine airports in central and western Russia temporarily halted traffic, while strikes forced schools in the southwestern Saratov region to close.
Strikes in the Bryansk border region caused explosions at a refinery, ammunition depots and a chemical plant said to produce gunpowder and explosives, a Ukrainian security source told the BBC.
But Kiev also struck much deeper into the country, with the General Staff claiming to have hit targets up to 1,100 km (700 miles) from the border.
In the western region of Saratov, officials reported a “large-scale” drone attack.
Two industrial enterprises in the cities of Engels and Saratov were damaged, regional governor Roman V. wrote on Telegram. Busargin.
Students were taught online Tuesday after local schools were closed.
Last week, Kiev said it had hit an oil storage facility in Engels – prompting days-long efforts to deal with the fire and Busgarin declaring a state of emergency.
Officials in the western Tula region also reported an attack overnight, where regional governor Dmitry V. Milyaev Russian said air defenses shot down 16 drones.
There were no casualties, he said, although falling debris damaged some cars and buildings.
Elsewhere, a gas storage facility near Kazan was hit in a drone strike in the southwestern region of Tatarstan, local authorities said, without reporting any casualties.
Moscow also launched dozens of drones into Ukraine overnight, with multiple warnings of airstrikes in and around Kiev.
Ukraine's air force said it shot down about 60 of the 80 drones involved in the attack, with no casualties.
Ukraine is trying to push back as best it can against Russian military advances on the ground with a week to go before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.
Trump said it was preparations for a meeting with Vladimir Putin after his return to the White House.
He expressed skepticism about US military and financial support for Kiev and pledged to prioritize negotiations to end the war.
He has not specified how he intends to do this.