Ukraine launched a "massive" overnight drone attack on St Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city, striking a major oil terminal and the Kronstadt naval base, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The attack targeted "port oil infrastructure that generates revenue for Russia's war," Zelensky said on social media on Saturday. The oil terminal is located approximately 528 miles from Ukraine's border.
Impact on Russia's Energy Infrastructure
Ukraine has intensified its long-range drone strikes on Russia's critical energy infrastructure, claiming to have "disabled" nearly 43 percent of Russia's oil refining capacity. St Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov confirmed the city came under a "massive" drone attack and admitted the oil terminal was hit, though he reported no casualties. Alexander Drozdenko, governor of the surrounding Leningrad region, said a drone struck the area of Vysotsk port but provided no details on the impact.
Russian Response and Denials
Moscow vowed to respond, claiming it shot down almost 500 Ukrainian drones and 10 of Kyiv's Flamingo missiles overnight. In a separate development, Ukraine denied Russia's announcement that its forces had captured the strategic city of Kostyantynivka in the eastern Donetsk region. Ukrainian army spokesman Andriy Kovalyov told AFP that the city "is under the control of the Ukrainian Defence Forces," while Zelensky dismissed Moscow's claim as "a lie."
Ongoing Fighting in Eastern Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin, wearing a military uniform, thanked troops on Friday for seizing Kostyantynivka, a town with a pre-war population of 78,000 that Moscow has been trying to capture for months. The Russian Defence Ministry stated, "Russian troops are in all parts of the town - from the southern to northern outskirts." However, Kovalyov admitted that small groups of Russian troops have infiltrated the town but insisted fighting continues. Zelensky challenged Putin to meet him in Kostyantynivka for diplomatic talks, saying, "If Kostyantynivka were under Russian control, then perhaps Putin would have no problem meeting me there to find a diplomatic way to finally end this war." Putin has repeatedly refused talks, stating Moscow's intent to capture the rest of eastern Ukraine by force.
