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Ukrainian drone attack hits Saint Petersburg infrastructure, leaves thousands without power
Overnight on October 18, a large-scale drone attack targeted Saint Petersburg and Russia’s Leningrad region. The governor of Saint Petersburg confirmed the attack.
Infrastructure sites were reported hit in the Nevsky, Krasnoselsky, Krasnogvardeysky, and Moskovsky districts. A fire broke out at the Saint Petersburg Oil Terminal, which ASTRA described as one of the largest bulk liquid cargo terminals in the Baltic region. The terminal has 21 tanks for petroleum storage and a reported annual capacity of 12.5 million metric tons.
The news outlet ASTRA reported that the Ruchyi fuel depot in Saint Petersburg’s Krasnogvardeysky district was also struck. The depot is described as the city’s largest fuel terminal, with a total capacity of 73,900 cubic meters. It stores and ships AI-92 and AI-95 gasoline, as well as diesel fuel.
Drones also targeted the cable-stayed bridge over the Korabelny fairway in Saint Petersburg. This bridge forms part of a toll highway linking the southern and northern parts of the city, connects Bely and Vasilyevsky Islands, and carries eight lanes of traffic. The extent of the damage was still being assessed.
In the Leningrad region, a data processing center belonging to the VK holding company—which owns social networks VKontakte and Odnoklassniki—came under attack. The company said its services were operating without interruption, but some users complained about issues with VKontakte.
The governor of the region said air defenses reportedly shot down 144 drones in the Leningrad region. Drones also struck power infrastructure, leaving more than 20,000 people without electricity.
One of Ozon’s logistics centers in Saint Petersburg was also hit by a large-scale fire following the attack.
