Ukrainian Drones Strike St. Petersburg Oil Terminal, Sparking Fires
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Long-range Ukrainian drones struck the St. Petersburg Oil Terminal in the early hours of October 18, one of the largest facilities of its kind in the Baltic Sea region. The attack sparked fires at the fuel storage infrastructure and was part of a broader overnight offensive against the city and its surrounding areas, which also hit fuel depots, electrical substations and logistics hubs.
Official confirmation and casualties
Leningrad Region Governor Aleksandr Drozdenko confirmed the strikes and the fires at the oil terminal, the Ruchyi fuel depot, two transformer substations and an industrial warehouse complex. According to Maritime Executive, the toll stood at five injured and one dead, while Marine Insight reported one fatality and numerous injuries, along with damage to 12 apartment buildings and 4 homes.
The terminal hit
The facility struck, identified as Peterburgskiy Neftyanoy Terminal, is one of the country's largest fuel export and storage terminals, handling an annual throughput of 12.5 million tonnes shipped out by river, rail and road. According to witness footage, the attack hit a tank located in the center of the terminal, which had already been targeted in a similar strike in June.
Scale of the attack
Russia's Ministry of Defense reported that its air defense systems shot down more than 1,000 Ukrainian drones near Moscow, St. Petersburg and surrounding areas, in what may have been Ukraine's largest attack to date, surpassing a similar strike on western Russia back in June. Other targets hit during the offensive included a distribution center belonging to e-commerce company Ozon and a data center run by the social network VKontakte.
Diplomatic context
The attack came after US President Donald Trump signed an agreement with Russia on diesel exports and declared an energy ceasefire aimed at preventing strikes on ports, oil terminals, refineries and storage depots. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his displeasure with that initiative, to which Trump responded that Kyiv might need a new leader. Zelensky also noted that Russia never honored the ceasefire proposal and that over the past week it had launched some 2,600 drones against Ukrainian energy infrastructure, striking it more than 70 times.
Kremlin response
Ukrainian drone maker Fire Point said its FP-1 drones were used in the attack. Asked by the press, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that the strikes were incapable of changing the course of events.
