Ukraine has carried out a long-range drone attack on a major oil terminal in Russia’s second-largest city, St Petersburg, and claimed it also struck a military target at the nearby naval base in Kronstadt.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the overnight operation targeted infrastructure that helps fund Russia’s war effort.
“Ukraine’s defence forces struck port oil infrastructure that generates revenue for Russia’s war,” Zelensky wrote on social media, adding that an “important military target” in Kronstadt was also hit.
The strikes took place about 850km (528 miles) from Ukraine’s border, according to the Ukrainian president.
St Petersburg Governor Aleksandr Beglov confirmed the city came under what he described as a “massive” drone attack and acknowledged that the oil terminal was hit. He said there were no casualties.
“The city was under a massive drone attack,” Beglov said, urging residents to stay indoors until the threat had passed. He also warned that mobile internet services could be disrupted.
Videos shared online showed a drone flying toward a target before a large column of black smoke rose into the sky. The BBC later verified that the oil terminal had been struck.
Ukraine’s military described the facility as one of Russia’s largest oil terminals, capable of producing about 12.5 million tonnes of petroleum products each year. It also said the attack targeted a key naval base of Russia’s Baltic Fleet in Kronstadt.
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Russian authorities have not commented on Ukraine’s claim that the naval base was hit.
Beglov said Russian air defences shot down 72 Ukrainian drones over St Petersburg and the surrounding Leningrad region during the attack.
The latest strike is part of Ukraine’s growing campaign against Russian energy facilities, with long-range drone attacks in recent months disrupting fuel supplies in several regions.
Meanwhile, fighting continued in eastern Ukraine, where Kyiv rejected Russia’s claim that it had captured the strategic town of Kostyantynivka.
Ukraine’s military spokesman, Major Andriy Kovalyov, said the town remained under Ukrainian control despite attempts by small Russian infantry groups to push into defensive positions.
“Kostyantynivka remains under the control of the Defence Forces of Ukraine,” Kovalyov said. “There are cases of infiltration by small infantry groups deep into the combat formations of our forces, but they are being identified and destroyed.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin had claimed a day earlier that his forces took control of the town in June, but did not provide evidence.
Responding to the claim, Zelensky challenged Putin’s version of events.
“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,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram. “But still, he will not cross the front line: the truth is very different from Putin’s words.”
Kostyantynivka is one of Ukraine’s heavily fortified towns in the Donetsk region, much of which remains under Russian occupation since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
