Russian officials confirmed a Ukrainian drone attack struck an oil terminal in St. Petersburg on Saturday, indicating Kyiv's continued bombardment of Russia’s oil infrastructure.
Nearly daily long-range assaults on Russian oil facilities have contributed to a fuel crisis and increased political pressure on the Kremlin as its invasion of Ukraine enters its fifth year.
Governor Alexander Beglov stated that the Kirovsky district in St. Petersburg, located on the Baltic Sea, was targeted. He also reported that air defenses intercepted 72 Ukrainian drones across Russia’s second-largest city and the surrounding area.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy characterized the attack as part of Ukraine's "long-range sanctions" against Russia. He added that Ukrainian forces also struck a military target on Kronstadt Island, situated near St. Petersburg's coast.
Zelenskyy posted on Telegram, stating, “The Ukrainian defense forces hit the port oil infrastructure, which earns money for the Russian war, and there were also hits on Kronstadt — an important military target.”
St. Petersburg’s Kirovsky district had been struck previously in June, preceding Russia's St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
The Crimean peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014, has experienced severe impacts from heavy strikes, leading local authorities to suspend gasoline sales to civilians. Moscow-installed Governor Sergei Aksyonov reported that a Ukrainian attack on Saturday resulted in one fatality and injured two others, including a ten-year-old child.
Ukrainian Attacks Bring War Home
Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed Ukraine’s strikes on Russian energy facilities as "not critical," maintaining that the war will proceed until his objectives are met.
He has framed attacks on Russian energy infrastructure as an attempt by Ukraine to divert attention from its battlefield losses, though analysts suggest Russian advances have slowed in recent months.
On Friday, Putin visited the military headquarters directing the war in Ukraine and received a briefing on the capture of Kostyantynivka following weeks of intense street fighting. He described this as a crucial step toward capturing Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, which are key remaining strongholds within the heavily fortified "forest belt" of cities in the Donetsk region still held by Ukraine.
Putin, wearing military fatigues, stated in televised comments that the capture of Kostyantynivka, a major transport and industrial hub, is of "major strategic importance."
Zelenskyy refuted Russia's claim regarding the city's control. He wrote on social media Saturday, “It is just another Russian lie, an attempt to generate some kind of a news story.” He added, “If Kostiantynivka were under Russian control, then perhaps Putin would have no problem meeting me there to find a diplomatic way to finally end this war. But the fact is, he won’t cross the front line — reality is very different from Putin’s words.”
Zelenskyy's post also appeared directed at U.S. President Donald Trump. He wrote, “Now, on the eve of America’s Independence Day, Putin has chosen to lie to the world and to the President of the United States about the situation on the front.”
Putin appears confident that his government can prevent the fuel crisis from undermining his authority and support for the conflict initiated over four years ago. At minimum, these attacks have made the war more acutely felt by millions of Russians, challenging Putin’s narrative that the conflict does not affect ordinary citizens in his country.
Local media reported that Belgorod, a border city repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian drone strikes, was left nearly without power on Saturday due to overnight attacks.
Separately, local authorities announced on Saturday that eight people were injured following a Russian attack on residential buildings in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, including two children.