Overnight Strikes Target Oil and Commercial Sites in St Petersburg

At least one person has been killed and at least five others injured following an overnight attack on St Petersburg that struck two major oil facilities, alongside key commercial infrastructure. St Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov confirmed that emergency crews were working to extinguish fires at both the St Petersburg Oil Terminal and the Ruchyi oil depot.

In addition to the energy facilities, the strikes impacted a logistics centre owned by e-commerce company Ozon and a data centre belonging to social network VKontakte. Ozon reported that its staff was safely evacuated with no injuries, though the facility has temporarily halted seller shipments. VKontakte acknowledged a drone strike on its regional data centre, noting that despite brief overnight outages, its services continue to operate normally.

Regional Disruptions and Military Responses

The strikes caused widespread localized damage, affecting 12 apartment buildings and two private homes, according to regional officials. Operational disruptions were also reported at Pulkovo Airport, which was temporarily forced to close, while local authorities warned of potential mobile internet service disruptions.

Russia's Ministry of Defence stated that its air defense systems shot down more than 1,000 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory overnight into Sunday. Kyiv has not formally commented on the St Petersburg strikes.

Escalating Attacks on Energy Infrastructure

The incident comes as both nations intensify strikes on energy targets ahead of winter. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on Saturday morning that Russian forces had targeted Ukraine's energy sector 76 times since US President Donald Trump declared an "energy ceasefire" last week. Zelensky noted that Russia launched nearly 2,700 drones, 1,700 aerial bombs, and 66 missiles over the past week, leaving tens of thousands of Ukrainian residents without electricity.

Ukraine had briefly paused its attacks on Russian oil infrastructure for three days following the ceasefire announcement before resuming operations earlier this week. The resumption drawn criticism from President Trump, who sought a truce to facilitate a diesel supply agreement reached with Russian President Vladimir Putin. While the United Nations reported that the first two weeks of October were the deadliest for Ukrainian civilians in years, Moscow maintains that its targets are restricted to facilities supporting Ukraine's military effort.