Ukrainian drones set St Petersburg oil terminal and depot ablaze
Ukraine struck the Petersburg Oil Terminal and Ruchyi oil depot overnight on 18 October, starting fires, while a VKontakte data centre and an Ozon logistics centre were also hit, according to Russian officials and company statements. St Petersburg’s governor reported one person killed and five injured; the attacks came as Kyiv accused Moscow of violating an announced energy ceasefire and said Russian strikes had hit Ukrainian energy facilities 76 times.
Bottom line — The strike hit oil-export infrastructure as both sides continued attacks on energy targets.
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Russia’s Leningrad region governor said air defences shot down 144 drones; other reports gave figures of 145 or more than 1,000 across multiple Russian regions.
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Russian reports said the attack damaged 12 apartment blocks and temporarily restricted operations at Pulkovo Airport.
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Ukrainian manufacturer Fire Point said its FP-1 drones hit the oil sites and VK data centre; Ukrinform reported the terminal handles up to 12.5 million tonnes of petroleum products a year.
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Ukraine’s Ukrinform reported serious damage to the VK data centre. Meduza said it was unclear whether user complaints about VK services were linked to the strike, while VK said its services were operating as usual.
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Ozon said its logistics centre was struck; it reported no staff injuries because the site had been evacuated and warned some deliveries could be delayed.
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Zelensky said he had spoken with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner about diplomacy and Ukraine’s air-defence needs.