Ukrainian Drones Strike Oil Terminal and Naval Base Near St. Petersburg

Ukrainian drones struck an oil terminal and naval facilities near St. Petersburg early Saturday, setting parts of the port area ablaze and producing thick black smoke visible from the city. Dozens of drones were launched over the region, Russian officials said.

m. local time, and footage posted on Telegram showed drones flying over the city. The port area includes the St. Petersburg Oil Terminal, one of Russia’s largest fuel storage and export sites, which reportedly processes about 250,000 barrels of petroleum products daily.

Zelensky said on X that Ukraine’s Defense Forces struck port oil infrastructure that generates revenue for Russia’s war effort. He also described the main base of Russia’s Baltic Fleet at Kronstadt as an important military target. Zelensky posted that Russia has lost the Black Sea and that the Ukrainian Navy has achieved what many believed was impossible.

The attacks form part of a 40-day pressure campaign approved by Zelensky last month that uses long-range drones to strike deep inside Russia. The campaign aims to pressure Russia to end its more than four-year war in Ukraine. Zelensky said he spoke with President Trump on Saturday and that the two leaders agreed to meet in person next week at the NATO Summit in Ankara, scheduled for July 7-8.

Two days earlier, Russian attacks on Kyiv killed at least 31 people and wounded more than 100, marking the third-deadliest assault on the capital since 2022.