Ukraine Strikes Major St Petersburg Oil Terminal in Long-Range Drone Assault

Ukraine has struck a major oil terminal in St Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city, in an overnight drone attack, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced. He described the site as key "infrastructure that generates revenue for Russia's war".

Kyiv also said a major Russian naval base in the surrounding region was targeted. According to Zelensky, the locations hit in St Petersburg and the wider area lie roughly 850km (528 miles) from Ukraine's border, underscoring the growing reach of Ukraine's long-range operations.

Officials confirm the terminal was struck

St Petersburg Governor Aleksandr Beglov said the city had come under a "massive" drone attack and acknowledged that the oil terminal was hit. He reported no casualties.

The full extent of the damage was not immediately clear. A video posted by Zelensky showed a drone flying towards a target, followed by a large column of black smoke rising from the area after the strike. The BBC later verified that St Petersburg's oil terminal had been hit.

Ukraine's military described the terminal as "one of the largest" in Russia, with the capacity to produce 12.5 million tonnes of petroleum products per year. The military also said a key naval base of the Russian Baltic Fleet in Kronstadt was struck. Russia has not publicly commented on that claim.

A widening campaign on Russian energy

Ukraine has recently intensified its long-range drone attacks on Russia's critical energy infrastructure, an effort Kyiv says has caused widespread fuel shortages. Ukrainian officials claim that nearly 43% of Russia's oil refining capacity has been "disabled" as a result, though the assertion has not been independently verified.

Kyiv argues that Russian oil and gas facilities are legitimate military targets, saying Moscow depends heavily on fossil fuel exports to sustain its war effort. Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Governor Beglov said 72 Ukrainian drones were shot down over St Petersburg and the wider Leningrad region. He urged residents to stay indoors until the drone threat was lifted and warned that mobile internet services might be disrupted. More than five million people live in St Petersburg.

Dispute over control of Kostyantynivka

In a separate development on Saturday, Ukraine's military rejected claims that the eastern town of Kostyantynivka was now under full Russian control. Military spokesman Maj Andriy Kovalyov told the BBC that "Kostyantynivka remains under the control of the Defence Forces of Ukraine".

He acknowledged there had been "cases of infiltration by small infantry groups deep into the combat formations of our forces", but said those groups were being identified and destroyed.

His remarks came a day after Putin stated that Russian control over the town had been established in June, without providing evidence to support the claim.

Zelensky responded on Telegram: "If Kostyantynivka is now under Russian control, then Putin will probably have no problem meeting me there and finding diplomatic solutions to finally end the war. But still, he will not cross the front line: the truth is very different from Putin's words."

Kostyantynivka is one of several heavily fortified towns forming Ukraine's "fortress belt" in the Donetsk region, most of which is occupied by Russia.

The overnight strike marks another escalation in Ukraine's efforts to bring the war deep inside Russian territory. What do you think the deep-strike campaign means for the months ahead? Share this article and join the conversation.

Source: BBC News – World