An overnight drone attack targeted two oil facilities and two technology centers in St. Petersburg, resulting in at least one death and five injuries. St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov reported that emergency services were working to extinguish fires at the St. Petersburg Oil Terminal and the Ruchyi oil depot. The strike also damaged a data center belonging to VKontakte and a logistics hub for the e-commerce firm Ozon.
The attack occurred during a period of heightened activity against energy infrastructure as the conflict enters its fifth year. While Ukraine has not officially commented on this specific strike, President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on Saturday that Russia had targeted Ukraine's energy sector 76 times since U.S. President Donald Trump declared an "energy ceasefire" the previous week. Ukraine had briefly paused strikes on Russian oil facilities before resuming them earlier this week.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported shooting down more than 1,000 Ukrainian drones across Russian territory during the same period. In St. Petersburg, Governor Beglov stated that the strikes damaged 12 apartment buildings and two homes, led to the temporary closure of Pulkovo Airport, and caused potential mobile internet disruptions. Ozon confirmed its staff were evacuated without injury, though the facility stopped accepting shipments. VKontakte reported service outages in the early hours but stated its systems returned to normal operation.
The scale of the broader aerial campaign is significant, with Russia reporting the interception of over 1,000 drones in a single night. In Ukraine, President Zelensky reported that Russian forces launched nearly 2,700 drones and 1,700 aerial bombs over the past week, leaving tens of thousands of Ukrainians without electricity. These figures indicate a sustained effort by both sides to target energy infrastructure.
The geopolitical impact involves a recent deal by the U.S. to import Russian diesel, which led to a temporary suspension of some U.S. sanctions against Russia. President Zelensky has criticized this deal, suggesting it supports the Russian economy during the conflict. Future diplomatic steps remain under discussion, as Zelensky confirmed ongoing communication with U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to prepare for upcoming talks.