Ukrainian drones crash into elite residential buildings in Kazan

Russian President Vladimir Putin was informed about Ukraine's drone attack on apartment buildings in Kazan. The head of state is in touch with the military, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS.

Putin receives reports from all military leaders twice a day, Peskov added.

Putin spoke with the head of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov after the attack on civilian infrastructure of Kazan.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine attacked the Russian city of Kazan on December 21 in the morning. Eight drones were launched in total, six of them attacked residential buildings.

Eyewitnesses filmed the attacks on video, capturing the strikes on Lazurnye Nebesa and Manhattan residential complexes. Luckily, no one was hurt in the attacks.

Click here to see more photos and videos of the drone strikes on Kazan.

Later, a state of emergency was introduced in Tatarstan for government agencies and units of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. The state of emergency applies to people who are dealing with the consequences of the drone attack, officials said.

It is believed that Ukraine used Lyuty drones during the attacks on Kazan. This UAV is based on the PD-2 prototype. The range of such UAVs amounts to 1,000 kilometers, they can carry a warhead of up to 50 kilograms.

The Lyuty drone is a low-wing aircraft with a twin-beam fuselage made of fiberglass. The structure is reinforced with metal mesh and plywood. For transportation, the drone can be disassembled into a module with a warhead, a fuel tank and an engine, removable wings and a tail section.

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Kazan is the largest city and capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of 425.3 square kilometres (164.2 square miles), with a population of over 1.3 million residents, and up to nearly 2 million residents in the greater metropolitan area. Kazan is the fifth-largest city in Russia, being the most populous city on the Volga, as well as within the Volga Federal District. Historically, Kazan was the capital of the Khanate of Kazan, and was conquered by Ivan the Terrible in the 16th century, at which point the city became a part of the Tsardom of Russia. The city was seized (and largely destroyed) during Pugachev's Rebellion (1773–1775), but was later rebuilt during the reign of Catherine the Great. In the following centuries, Kazan grew to become a major industrial, cultural and religious centre of Russia. In 1920, after the Russian SFSR became a part of the Soviet Union, Kazan became the capital of the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Tatar ASSR). Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Kazan remained the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan.