Ukrainian attacks set an oil export terminal ablaze in St Petersburg on Sunday, as Kyiv launched more than 1,000 drones across Russia in one of its largest ever aerial bombardments. The attack comes amid deepening tensions between Ukraine and Washington, with US President Donald Trump criticising Kyiv for its strikes on Russian oil infrastructure.
Fatalities and damage in St Petersburg
One person was killed and five more were wounded in the attack, which sparked fires at both the St Petersburg Oil Terminal and the city’s Ruchi oil depot, said local governor Alexander Beglov. A logistics centre belonging to Russian retailer Ozon and a data centre for local tech giant VK were also targeted, both companies confirmed.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its forces had destroyed 1,015 Ukrainian drones over 15 Russian regions, as well as the annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and the Black Sea. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian state news agency Tass that Kyiv was “resisting” Moscow’s invasion but could not “change the current course of events”.
US sanctions and intelligence sharing
The strikes came after Trump told reporters they did not know what his decision on further sanctions against Russia would be, despite signing an executive order on Friday night waiving planned restrictions, citing US national interests. Speaking on NBC’s Meet The Press on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said waiving sanctions against Russia would strengthen Mr Putin’s war effort.
He also said US-Ukraine intelligence sharing had resumed after being “blocked for some period of time”. Mr Zelensky said while he trusted Trump, siding with Moscow would be a tragedy and a “historic mistake” for Washington.
“People want to forget what’s going on. But we can’t give this possibility to forget, or to change reality, or to change the truth,” Mr Zelensky said. “We can’t compare me and Putin. He’s aggressor. He occupied us. He killed adults and children, his soldiers. He’s a terrorist. And that’s why I hope that President Trump will be very clear with this position.”
Attacks on Zaporizhzhia and energy ceasefire
Meanwhile, a woman died and at least two other people were wounded, including a six-year-old girl, after Russia launched two attacks on the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, local officials said. Two apartment buildings, 18 cars and an educational institution were damaged as a result of the attack, head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration Mykhailo Semikin said.
Trump announced on October 11 that Russia and Ukraine agreed to an “energy ceasefire” in the war, but offered no details on it and Kyiv reported attacks by Moscow on energy sites after his statement. Ukraine confirmed on Thursday it resumed attacks on Russian oil after a three-day hiatus.
Mr Zelensky was outraged by Russia’s continuing aerial bombardment of his country’s energy infrastructure in apparent defiance of Mr Trump’s demand on Sunday for both sides to halt those attacks. The Ukrainian government initially said it was heeding the ceasefire.
In a post on X Sunday, Mr Zelensky said in the week since Mr Trump’s announcement of an energy ceasefire, Russia had attacked Ukraine’s energy, oil and gas sectors 76 times. He also said in the past night alone, energy facilities in four Ukrainian regions had been attacked and tens of thousands of families were still without power.
He accused Russia of trying to cause a blackout. “America should see that Russia is not taking any reciprocal steps in response to sanctions relief or agreements. On the contrary, they take every signal of an opportunity to make money as proof that their bet on war is paying off and they can keep fighting,” he wrote. Mr Zelensky also stressed the war was continuing due to Russia’s invasion — not because Ukraine was defending itself.
“It is Russia that must face pressure for peace to have a chance. Thank you to everyone who understands this and helps,” he said.
