Ukraine Launches Massive Drone Attack on St. Petersburg as Tensions With U.S. Mount
Ukraine struck St. Petersburg with a large-scale drone attack, killing one person and injuring at least five while setting fires at oil facilities. The strikes occurred amid deepening tensions between Kyiv and Washington over sanctions and an alleged energy ceasefire.
Ukraine launched more than 1,000 drones at Russia in a massive aerial assault that targeted oil infrastructure and other sites in St. Petersburg, killing one person and injuring at least five. Russia's Defence Ministry claimed to have destroyed 1,015 drones across 15 regions, Crimea, and the Black Sea.
The attack on St. Petersburg ignited fires at the Petersburg Oil Terminal and the Ruchi oil depot, also identified by some reports as Ruchyi. A logistics centre belonging to retailer Ozon and a data centre operated by tech giant VK were also targeted, prompting the evacuation of Ozon staff and causing service outages for VK users. Mobile internet service in the city was disrupted.
St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov reported that 12 apartment buildings and two homes were damaged, and Pulkovo Airport was temporarily closed.
The strikes come amid deepening tensions between Kyiv and Washington over U.S. sanctions policy and an alleged "energy ceasefire." U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order waiving planned restrictions on Russia, citing national interests, while criticizing Kyiv's attacks on Russian oil infrastructure. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Russia attacked Ukraine's energy, oil, and gas sectors 76 times in the week since Trump announced the ceasefire. Zelenskyy reported that Russia launched nearly 2,700 drones, 1,700 aerial bombs, and 66 missiles in the past week, mostly aimed at energy facilities, leaving tens of thousands of families without power. Zelenskyy also confirmed that U.S.-Ukraine intelligence sharing had resumed after being blocked for some period of time.
Simultaneously, Russian attacks on Zaporizhzhia killed one woman and wounded at least two others, including a six-year-old girl.
In a separate incident, a Ukrainian drone flew into Lithuania's airspace, damaging a moving car in the Pasvalys region and prompting air raid warnings issued by Lithuania's National Crisis Management Centre. Ukraine apologized for the incident.
The conflict is now in its fifth year.