Saint Petersburg was rocked by a major Ukrainian drone assault that ignited fires at an oil refinery and depot, according to Moscow, as tensions over a proposed US-backed “energy ceasefire” continued to unravel.
The strikes came after Kyiv accused Russia of breaching the arrangement dozens of times and leaving tens of thousands of people without electricity.
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Last week, US President Donald Trump announced an “energy ceasefire” that neither side had publicly agreed to in advance. The understanding quickly fell apart: Moscow continued attacking Ukraine’s power network, while Kyiv eventually resumed strikes on Russian oil refineries.
Mr Trump has criticised Ukraine’s attacks on Russian refineries, arguing that they are helping drive up fuel prices around the world.
Kyiv maintains that its retaliatory campaign is justified after years of Russia’s invasion and the sustained destruction of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
Watch: Eyewitness footage shows fire near Saint Petersburg oil terminal
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said today that Russian forces had struck energy, oil and gas facilities in Ukraine 76 times since Mr Trump announced the ceasefire.
In Saint Petersburg, the hometown of Russian President Vladimir Putin, one person was killed and five others were taken to hospital during the overnight attacks, Governor Alexander Beglov said.
Fire crews were battling blazes at the Saint Petersburg oil terminal, the Ruchyi oil depot and several industrial warehouses, he said.
Restrictions were imposed on flights at the city’s Pulkovo airport, while 12 residential buildings were damaged, Mr Beglov added.
Russia’s VKontakte social network said its data centre had been struck, while Ozon, the country’s second-largest retailer, reported damage to its logistics centre.
Alexander Drozdenko, governor of the wider Leningrad region, said air defences had destroyed 144 Ukrainian drones. State media described the assault as the biggest on Saint Petersburg since the war began in 2022.
Ukraine has repeatedly targeted Moscow and Saint Petersburg during the Kremlin’s drawn-out offensive, although attacks on Russia’s two principal cities on this scale remain unusual.
US-led peace efforts have yet to produce a breakthrough, and as the war enters its fifth year, there is little sign of a clear route to an end.
Mr Drozdenko said about 20,000 people had lost power in Yanino after a substation was hit.
He also said a woman and three children were hospitalised in the region after drone debris struck a house, triggering a fire and leaving them “with symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning”.
Smoke could be seen rising above Saint Petersburg’s shipyards, visible from the historic city centre along the banks of the Neva River.
Read more: Trump paused Russia sanctions to ‘analyse’ impact – Rubio
A day earlier, Mr Putin appeared in military uniform and said Moscow planned to capture the remaining parts of eastern Ukraine by force.
The latest attack followed Mr Zelensky’s appeal to international allies to maintain pressure on Moscow, as he also condemned Mr Trump’s decision to halt new sanctions against Russia.
Mr Zelensky said today that Russian attacks had struck substations in four Ukrainian regions, cutting electricity to “tens of thousands of families”.
He has warned that Moscow is seeking to deprive Ukrainians of heat and power before winter.
Russian strikes also killed two people today at an “agricultural enterprise” in the western region of Volyn, which borders Nato member Poland, Mr Zelensky said.
“America should see that Russia is not taking any reciprocal steps in response to sanctions relief or agreements.
“On the contrary, they take every signal of an opportunity to make money as proof that their bet on war is paying off and they can keep fighting,” Mr Zelensky said.
This week, Mr Trump blocked a proposed package of sanctions aimed at Mr Putin and Russia’s energy and defence industries.
The US president also signed an agreement with Moscow this month to purchase diesel, a move seen as an attempt to reduce fuel costs for American consumers ahead of elections.
Kyiv and its European allies fear the White House is tilting towards Russia in Europe’s most serious conflict since World War Two.
“It is Russia that must face pressure for peace to have a chance,” Mr Zelensky said.
