Ukraine launched a large-scale overnight drone attack targeting oil infrastructure in St Petersburg and the surrounding Leningrad region, intensifying its campaign to disrupt Russia’s fuel supplies. Ukrainian officials said the operation struck facilities that generate revenue for Russia’s military efforts, while Russian authorities confirmed attacks on oil-related infrastructure but reported no fatalities in St Petersburg. The assault marked one of the latest long-range strikes deep inside Russian territory.
St Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov said the city of nearly six million people faced a major drone attack that damaged an oil terminal before emergency services secured the area. Meanwhile, Leningrad Governor Alexander Drozdenko reported that a drone struck near the port of Vysotsk, an important Baltic Sea hub handling oil, liquefied natural gas, coal, and grain shipments. He also claimed air defence systems intercepted 72 drones across the region.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the strikes targeted strategic port infrastructure that supports Russia’s war economy and also hit Kronstadt, an important military location near St Petersburg. However, Russian authorities did not confirm any strike on the naval base. Elsewhere, officials in Russia’s Pskov region said more than 30 drones were intercepted overnight, while minor damage and injuries were reported in several areas, including an industrial facility in Velikiye Luki.
Meanwhile, drone attacks in Russia’s Bryansk region and Russian-controlled Crimea reportedly killed one person in each location and injured several others. Long queues also formed at fuel stations in the Leningrad region town of Gatchina after some outlets reportedly ran out of fuel, highlighting the growing pressure on local energy supplies. The repeated attacks reflect Ukraine’s broader strategy of targeting fuel infrastructure supporting Russia’s military operations.
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At the same time, Zelensky rejected Russian claims that Moscow had captured the eastern Ukrainian city of Kostiantynivka, calling the assertion false and insisting Ukrainian forces continued defending the area. The General Staff also denied Russian control of the strategically important town, which forms part of Ukraine’s defensive belt in the Donetsk region. Separately, Russian shelling struck a coal enterprise in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, killing one person and injuring five miners while causing significant damage.