Kyiv, Ukraine – Web Desk: Ukraine launched one of its largest overnight drone attacks on Russia, targeting oil infrastructure in and around St Petersburg as the war entered another intense phase. The strikes came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Russian claims that Moscow had captured the strategically important eastern city of Kostiantynivka, calling them “another Russian lie.”
According to Russian authorities, the drone assault targeted an oil terminal in St Petersburg, while additional strikes were reported near the Port of Vysotsk in Russia’s Leningrad region. Regional officials said dozens of drones were intercepted, although some infrastructure sustained minor damage.
St Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov described the incident as a “large-scale” drone attack, confirming that emergency services had secured the affected areas and reporting no casualties inside the city.
Meanwhile, Leningrad Governor Alexander Drozdenko said a drone struck near the strategically important Vysotsk Port, located approximately 170 kilometres northwest of St Petersburg on the Baltic Sea. The port plays a significant role in Russia’s exports of oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), grain, and coal.
In a statement on Telegram, President Zelensky said Ukrainian forces had struck oil infrastructure that finances Russia’s war effort and also targeted Kronstadt, a major Russian naval base located more than 850 kilometres from Ukraine’s border. Russian authorities have not officially confirmed any strike on Kronstadt.
Officials also reported that more than 30 drones were intercepted over Russia’s Pskov region, where minor damage and injuries were reported, including at a manufacturing facility in Velikiye Luki.
Elsewhere, authorities in Russia’s Bryansk region and Russian-controlled Crimea reported that separate drone attacks killed one person in each region while several others were injured.
The latest strikes come as reports of fuel shortages continue to emerge in parts of western Russia. Long queues were seen at petrol stations in Gatchina, with several fuel outlets reportedly running out of supplies.
On the battlefield, President Zelensky rejected Russian claims that Moscow’s forces had captured Kostiantynivka, a strategically important city in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
“If Kostiantynivka were under Russian control, perhaps President Vladimir Putin would have no problem meeting me there to discuss ending this war,” Zelensky said, insisting Ukrainian forces continue to defend the city.
Ukraine’s General Staff also denied Russia’s claims, stating that Ukrainian troops remain engaged in defensive operations inside Kostiantynivka.
Military analysts consider the city a key part of Ukraine’s defensive “fortress belt” in Donetsk, making it one of the most strategically important objectives in Russia’s ongoing offensive.
Meanwhile, Russian attacks continued across Ukraine. A strike on a coal enterprise in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region killed one person, injured five miners, and caused significant damage, according to Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK.
The latest escalation highlights the growing intensity of long-range drone warfare between Ukraine and Russia, with both sides increasingly targeting critical infrastructure and strategic military assets.
