Ukraine hits major oil terminal in Russia’s St Petersburg
Ukraine, Russia’s second city, St. It hit a major oil terminal in St. Petersburg and other targets in the northwest of the country.
“Ukraine’s defense forces hit the port oil infrastructure that provides revenue for Russia’s war,” President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote in a post on social media. He also said an “important military target” had been hit overnight at Kronstadt, a nearby naval base.
St Petersburg Governor Aleksandr Beglov acknowledged the oil terminal was hit, saying the city was under a “massive” drone attack. He reported that there was no loss of life.
Ukraine has intensified long-range drone attacks on Russia’s critical energy infrastructure in recent months, causing fuel shortages in many regions.
In his post on Saturday morning, Zelensky said that the targets hit in St. Petersburg and the surrounding region were approximately 850 kilometers away from the Ukrainian border.
The extent of the damage is not yet clear, but a video released by the Ukrainian President shows a drone flying towards the target and a large column of black smoke rising from the area following the attack.
The BBC later confirmed that St Petersburg’s oil terminal had been hit.
The Ukrainian military described the terminal as “one of the largest terminals” in Russia, with the capacity to produce 12.5 million tons of oil products per year.
The military also said a key naval base of the Russian Baltic Fleet in Kronstadt was hit.
Russia has not commented publicly on the allegation.
Writing on Telegram, Governor Beglov said that 72 Ukrainian drones were shot down over St Petersburg and the Leningrad region.
He urged city residents to stay home until the drone threat is eliminated. He warned that mobile internet services could also be disrupted.
More than five million people live in St. Petersburg.
In a separate development on Saturday, the Ukrainian military denied claims that the key city of eastern Ukraine, Kostyantynivka, was now completely under Russian control.
Military spokesman Major Andriy Kovalyov told the BBC that “Kostyantynivka is under the control of the Ukrainian Defense Forces.”
He acknowledged that there were “cases of infiltration of small infantry groups deep into the combat formations of our forces”, but added that these groups were detected and destroyed.
His comments came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russian control had been established over the town of Kostyantynivka in June.
Putin provided no evidence to support his claim.
Later on Saturday, Zelensky wrote on Telegram: “If Kostyantynivka is now under Russian control, then Putin will probably have no problems meeting me there and finding diplomatic solutions to finally end the war. But he still will not cross the front line: the truth is very different from Putin’s words.”
Kostyantynivka is one of several heavily fortified towns that form Ukraine’s “fortress belt” in the Donetsk region, most of which is occupied by Russia.
President Putin launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Moscow now controls approximately 20% of Ukrainian territory.
