A UKRAINIAN drone strike killed two civilians in Russia’s Tatarstan region today, while Ukrainian authorities reported Russian drone attacks on the Black Sea port of Odesa and a fire near a border crossing with Poland.

The latest violence followed a warning from Russian President Vladimir Putin that sending European troops into Ukraine would trigger a direct conflict with his country. 

Two people were killed and 12 wounded today as Ukrainian drones struck Nizhnekamsk, a city in Tatarstan, according to the office of regional head Rustam Minnikhanov. They died when a drone slammed into a tree near their parked car, the statement said.

Nizhnekamsk houses a key cluster of oil refineries and petrochemical, rubber and polymer plants.

Another Ukrainian drone attack hit a major oil refinery in Slavyansk-on-Kuban, in Russia’s Krasnodar region, injuring three people and starting a massive blaze.

Moscow’s forces shot down 389 Ukrainian drones on Saturday night, Russia’s Defence Ministry said today.

At least nine people were injured in a “massive” Russian night-time attack on Odesa, according to Serhii Lysak, who heads the city’s military administration.

On Saturday, a Russian drone attack struck a high-rise block of flats in the city, killing two people and injuring 26, Ukrainian officials said.

In western Ukraine, a drone struck near the Yahodyn-Dorohusk border crossing with Poland, setting fire to a petrol station.

Mr Putin, speaking at the Brics summit in India on Friday night, warned European governments against deploying military forces in Ukraine.

“Now they’re talking about how they’re considering sending troops into Ukraine. That means a war with Russia,” he said.

Some European leaders have vowed to contribute to a potential peacekeeping force, a prospect that Moscow has repeatedly described as unacceptable.

Mr Putin also denied Russia posed any threat to Europe, saying “there is no such threat and never has been.”