In brief
Ukrainian drones struck the St Petersburg Oil Terminal overnight, killing one person and injuring others as fire crews battled flames at the site and the nearby Ruchyi depot. The strike also damaged Ozon’s logistics hub and a VKontakte data centre, signalling a broader attack on Russian energy and commercial infrastructure. Russian authorities reported more than 1,000 drones were intercepted overnight, as the war enters a fifth year of heightened conflict. Damage extended to residential buildings and Pulkovo Airport, with mobile internet service disrupted. The incident is part of mounting threats to Russia’s civilian and economic stability during the winter months.
At least one person was killed when Ukrainian drones struck the St Petersburg Oil Terminal overnight, Russia says.
The city’s governor, Alexander Beglov, said fires were being doused at both the oil terminal and the Ruchyi oil depot, and that five people were injured.
In addition to the oil facilities, the strike damaged a logistics centre run by the Russian e‑commerce company Ozon and a data centre operated by the VKontakte social network.
Russia’s defence ministry reported that it shot down more than 1,000 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory last night, amid a broader campaign of attacks on energy infrastructure.
The governor also warned that 12 apartment blocks and two houses suffered damage, and that Pulkovo Airport was temporarily closed. Mobile internet service was also disrupted.
Ukraine has not yet commented on this particular attack, but President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier this week that the conflict over energy facilities has escalated, and that Russia’s strikes have left wide‑scale outages.
The attacks are part of an intensified cycle of drone assaults on Russian fuel supply lines and industrial sites as Moscow’s war rages into its fifth year, with concern mounting about deep‑winter power shortages for civilians.
