Ukraine hits St. Petersburg oil terminal with drones as Russia's economic forum opens
Key takeaways
- Ukraine launched a mass drone attack against several Russian regions early on Wednesday and struck an oil terminal in St.
- He added that military targets at the Kronstadt base had also been hit.
- The Russian government opened a criminal investigation.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Ukraine launched a mass drone attack against several Russian regions early on Wednesday and struck an oil terminal in St. Petersburg, coinciding with the opening of the country's main economic forum. Russia's Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 345 drones over 15 regions, including Moscow and Leningrad, where St. Petersburg is located.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed the strike on the oil terminal —one of the largest hydrocarbon transshipment complexes in the Baltic Sea— and said the drones had flown more than 1,000 kilometers to reach the target. He added that military targets at the Kronstadt base had also been hit. St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov acknowledged damage to several facilities in the Kirovsky and Krasnoselsky districts and at the port of Kronstadt, with several people injured and no deaths. A column of black smoke rose over the port, in view of forum attendees, while Pulkovo airport suspended or diverted about thirty flights.
In the part of Ukraine occupied by Russia, at least seven civilians were killed and eleven injured when a drone struck a passenger bus on the Moscow–Simferopol route in the town of Yenakiyevo, according to the pro-Russian leader of Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, who called the attack inhuman. The Russian government opened a criminal investigation. Ukraine, which like Russia denies deliberately targeting civilians, did not comment on the incident. In the Smolensk region, two firefighters were killed in another drone attack, according to the local governor.