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St Petersburg oil terminal ablaze as Ukraine fires more than 1,000 drones at Russia
One person was killed in Russia's second city as Kyiv mounted one of its biggest aerial attacks of the war, a week after Donald Trump announced an energy ceasefire that has never taken hold.
Key points
- Russia's defence ministry said it destroyed 1,015 Ukrainian drones over 15 regions, Crimea and the Black Sea.
- Fires broke out at the Petersburg Oil Terminal and the Ruchi oil depot; one person was killed and five wounded.
- Zelenskyy said Russia had hit Ukraine's energy, oil and gas sectors 76 times since the ceasefire was announced.
Ukraine launched more than 1,000 drones at Russia overnight into Sunday, setting fire to an oil export terminal in St Petersburg in one of the largest aerial attacks Kyiv has mounted since the full-scale war began.
Alexander Beglov, governor of Russia’s second city, said one person was killed and five were wounded. Fires broke out at the Petersburg Oil Terminal and at the city’s Ruchi oil depot, a large fuel storage site. Russia’s defence ministry said its forces destroyed 1,015 Ukrainian drones over 15 Russian regions, annexed Crimea and the Black Sea.
A night of disruption
The attack began in the early hours. Pulkovo Airport suspended arrivals and departures at about 2 am local time, and residents reported brief power cuts in parts of the city. Fires were reported at civilian sites in several districts, and some roads were closed to traffic. Alexander Drozdenko, governor of the surrounding Leningrad region, said air defences had shot down 126 drones over his territory alone.
The drones also hit commercial targets. A logistics centre belonging to the online retailer Ozon and a data centre run by the technology company VK were struck; both companies confirmed the attacks. VK said its services remained available, although users reported trouble reaching the VKontakte social network.
In Ukraine, Russian attacks on Zaporizhzhia killed a woman and wounded at least two other people, among them a six-year-old girl. Mykhailo Semikin, head of the regional military administration, said two apartment blocks, 18 cars and an educational building were damaged.
A ceasefire in name only
The strikes deepen the collapse of the “energy ceasefire” that President Donald Trump announced on 11 October without giving details. Kyiv reported Russian attacks on its power grid soon afterwards, and on Thursday Ukraine confirmed it had resumed strikes on Russian oil facilities after a three-day pause. Trump has criticised those strikes, adding to the strain between Kyiv and Washington.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that Russia had attacked Ukraine’s energy, oil and gas sectors 76 times in the week since the announcement. Energy facilities in four regions were hit overnight, he said, leaving tens of thousands of families without power, and he accused Moscow of trying to cause a blackout.
“America should see that Russia is not taking any reciprocal steps in response to sanctions relief or agreements,” Zelenskyy wrote. “It is Russia that must face pressure for peace to have a chance.”
His remarks were aimed squarely at Washington. On Friday Trump signed an order waiving key penalties under a new Russia sanctions law, including extra tariffs on the biggest buyers of Russian oil such as India and China, and announced a deal for Russia to supply diesel to world markets as fuel prices weigh on American voters before the 3 November midterm elections.
What comes next
Neither side has shown any sign of stepping back. Russia has pounded Ukraine’s grid as winter approaches, while Kyiv argues that hitting Russia’s oil revenue is one of its few levers. Zelenskyy has said talks with the United States will continue and that he expects Washington to put more pressure on Vladimir Putin.