People watch the burning oil terminal following an air attack in Saint Petersburg on October 18, 2026, amid the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict. (AFP Photo)
A Ukrainian drone attack overnight killed one person, wounded five others and set two oil refineries ablaze in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg, its governor said on Oct. 18.
“One person was killed and five others hurt and hospitalized following a massive attack carried out by Ukrainian Nazi military drones,” Alexandre Beglov said.
He added firefighters were battling blazes at the Saint Petersburg oil terminal site, also hit in June, the Ruchi oil depot and industrial warehouses in the Kolpino district south of the city.
Beglov added several residential buildings had been hit, as well as two houses.
“Air defense systems are in operation,” he wrote on Telegram.
City authorities said the attack also disrupted flights at Saint Petersburg’s main airport, one of the country’s busiest, which was restricting operations “for safety reasons,” Beglov said.
The strikes came after Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky said last week Kiev would resume hitting Russian refineries, after an “energy ceasefire” announced by U.S. President Donald Trump failed to materialize.
Zelensky insisted he was standing up for his war-torn country in the face of unrelenting Russian attacks, including on energy infrastructure, as support from the United States slumped.
The governor of the Leningrad region surrounding Saint Petersburg, Alexander Drozdenko, said 145 drones had been shot down and said around 20,000 people were without electricity following the drone raid.
Saint Petersburg and the surrounding region are home to major oil infrastructure. Ukraine has specifically targeted the sector over recent months in retaliation for Russian bombings.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said overall 1,015 Ukrainian drones were neutralized Oct. 17 night in around 15 regions in Russia’s south and west, including the capital, Moscow.
