Ukraine conducted a significant drone strike on a major oil terminal in St Petersburg during an extensive overnight attack on Russia’s second-largest city. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on social media that the country’s defense forces targeted the “port oil infrastructure” that financially supports Russia’s war efforts in St Petersburg and its neighboring areas. Additionally, Zelensky claimed that Kyiv also struck the Kronstadt naval base located approximately 528 miles away from Ukraine’s border.
The drone attacks by Ukraine on Russia’s critical energy infrastructure have been escalating, with reports indicating that nearly 43% of Russia’s oil refining capacity has been “disabled.” This move follows a deadly Russian assault on Kyiv that resulted in the loss of 30 lives, marking the most fatal attack on Ukraine this year.
Governor Alexander Beglov of St Petersburg confirmed that the city endured a substantial drone assault, acknowledging that the oil terminal was hit but stated that there were no casualties. The governor of the surrounding Leningrad region, Alexander Drozdenko, mentioned a drone strike in the Vysotsk port area but did not provide details on the impact.
In response, Moscow declared that it had intercepted close to 500 Ukrainian drones and 10 Flamingo missiles launched by Kyiv overnight. Furthermore, Ukraine refuted Moscow’s claim that Russian forces had taken control of the strategic Ukrainian city of Kostyantynivka, a crucial stronghold for Kyiv’s troops in the eastern Donetsk region and a primary target for the Kremlin.
An army spokesman from Ukraine affirmed that Kostyantynivka remained under Ukrainian control and dismissed Moscow’s announcement as false. The spokesman emphasized that despite the challenging situation, the city was still being defended by the Ukrainian forces.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, donning military attire, commended troops for seizing Kostyantynivka, a town with a pre-war population of 78,000. The Russian military has been employing tactics involving small groups of soldiers to secure positions, similar to the method used to capture the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk in late 2025.
Kostyantynivka stands as a crucial obstacle on the path to major Ukrainian-held cities like Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, which are the Kremlin’s primary targets in the Donbas region. Ukrainian defenders are holding their positions along designated defensive lines, despite reports of Russian troops infiltrating the town, leading to ongoing clashes.
While Zelensky branded Moscow’s claim as a falsehood, stating that if Kostyantynivka were truly under Russian control, Putin could meet him there to seek a diplomatic resolution to end the war. Putin has consistently rejected talks with Zelensky to terminate the conflict, asserting Moscow’s intention to forcefully capture the remaining eastern regions of Ukraine.
