One Killed in Overnight Attack on St. Petersburg Oil Facilities

At least one person was killed and at least five others were injured in an overnight drone attack into Sunday, Oct. 18, that set fires at two oil facilities in St. Petersburg, according to Russian officials. BBC

St. Petersburg Gov. Alexander Beglov said firefighters were working to extinguish blazes at the St. Petersburg Oil Terminal and the Ruchyi oil depot. He said 12 apartment buildings and two homes were damaged in the city, and Pulkovo Airport was temporarily closed during the attack.

The strike also hit civilian infrastructure. Ozon confirmed a drone struck its local logistics centre and started a fire, adding that staff were evacuated and no one there was injured. VK confirmed a drone targeted its regional data centre in the Leningrad region and said its services remained available as usual.

A highway bridge was also struck, according to Ukrainian outlets. The bridge is described as a major eight-lane crossing on a key highway linking the city's north and south. Kyiv Post United24Media

A separate report put the number of injured in St. Petersburg and the surrounding Leningrad region at 15. U.S. News

Russia's defence ministry said it shot down more than 1,000 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory overnight into Sunday. On Saturday morning, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had targeted Ukraine's energy sector 76 times since U.S. President Donald Trump declared an energy ceasefire last week, a halt to attacks on energy sites.

The St. Petersburg oil terminal was last hit in July, when an overnight drone attack struck the port and oil infrastructure in the region. Earlier this month, a drone attack caused a fire at the Ilsky oil refinery, in an incident in which five people were wounded in the southern Krasnodar region. Reuters