Ukrainian Drone Strike Hits St. Petersburg Oil Terminal

A Ukrainian drone attack struck an oil terminal in St. Petersburg on Saturday, Russian officials said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the strike targeted port oil infrastructure that earns money for the Russian war effort. He added that Ukrainian forces also hit a military target on the island of Kronstadt, just off the coast of St. Petersburg.

Russian officials said air defenses shot down 72 Ukrainian drones across the city and surrounding region. The district had been struck previously in June ahead of Russia’s St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Putin visited military headquarters on Friday and received a report on the capture of Kostyantynivka after weeks of street fighting. He described the city as a key transport hub of major strategic importance. Col. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy said Ukrainian troops had been pushed back several kilometers and that fighting continued on the outskirts of Oleksiievo-Druzhkivka.

He stated that the city was now under full Russian control. Zelenskyy denied the claim, calling it another Russian lie and an attempt to generate a news story. He wrote that if Kostiantynivka were under Russian control, Putin would have no problem meeting him there to end the war.

Almost daily Ukrainian long-range attacks on Russian oil facilities have created a fuel crisis and added political pressure on the Kremlin as the invasion stretches into its fifth year. Putin has described the strikes as an effort to distract attention from battlefield losses.

The border city of Belgorod was left almost completely without power on Saturday after overnight attacks, local media reported. Eight people were wounded after a Russian attack struck residential buildings in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, including two children, local authorities said.