A large-scale drone attack struck St Petersburg overnight, resulting in at least one death and injuries to at least five others. The strike targeted critical infrastructure, including two major oil facilities, the St Petersburg Oil Terminal and the Ruchyi oil depot, where Governor Alexander Beglov reported ongoing efforts to extinguish fires.
Beyond the energy sector, the assault hit a logistics center operated by Ozon—often described as Russia’s version of Amazon—and a regional data center belonging to the social media network VK. While VK confirmed a drone hit their facility, they noted that services remained available despite some reported early-morning outages. Ozon also confirmed an evacuation of staff with no injuries reported, stating the site is currently being used for purposes other than accepting merchant shipments.
The regional governor reported that the attacks caused damage to 12 apartment buildings and two private homes. Operations at Pulkovo Airport were temporarily suspended, and officials warned that mobile internet services could face potential disruptions. It launched a series of attacks on Yandex, Russia’s largest search engine, that led to service disruptions, earlier this month.
Russia’s defense ministry claimed to have intercepted more than 1,000 Ukrainian drones throughout the country during the overnight hours. Kyiv has maintained silence regarding these specific strikes. Kyiv has not yet commented on the strikes. According to russia’s defence ministry, It had shot down more than 1,000 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory overnight into Sunday.
The attack follows a volatile week for energy infrastructure. President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed on Saturday that Russia has targeted Ukrainian energy facilities 76 times since Donald Trump announced an “energy ceasefire” last week. Ukraine had observed a three-day pause following the announcement but resumed strikes on Russian energy assets, citing the need to limit revenue streams for Moscow’s war effort.
These strikes have drawn criticism from Trump, who has pushed for a truce to support a deal with Vladimir Putin involving Russian diesel supplies. This diplomatic situation has caused friction between Washington and Kyiv, with Zelensky characterizing the move as effectively funding the Russian war effort. Recent US decisions to suspend certain sanctions against Russia have also sparked internal criticism from some Republicans.
The conflict continues with increased intensity as both nations target energy infrastructure ahead of the winter season.
The war, now in its fifth year, has seen devastating impacts on civilians.
The UN reported that the first two weeks of October were the deadliest for Ukrainian civilians in years. Zelensky noted that in the past week alone, Russia launched nearly 2,700 drones, 1,700 aerial bombs, and 66 missiles, largely aimed at energy sites, leaving tens of thousands of people in Ukraine without power.
