UKRAINE STRIKES ST PETERSBURG OIL TERMINAL IN OVERNIGHT DRONE ATTACK

Ukrainian drones attacked St Petersburg overnight, striking the city's oil terminal and port infrastructure across the wider region, according to Russian officials. Alexander Beglov, St Petersburg governor, characterised the assault as "large-scale" and reported no casualties. Alexander Drozdenko, governor of the surrounding Leningrad region, said a drone had also hit Vysotsk port, approximately 170 kilometres north-west of St Petersburg on the Baltic Sea, which handles oil, grain, coal and liquefied natural gas. Drozdenko stated that 72 drones had been intercepted over the region, with minor damage reported in several settlements.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the operation as part of Ukraine's "long-range sanctions" against Russia. Zelenskyy said Ukraine's defence forces had struck port oil infrastructure generating revenue for Russia's war effort and had also targeted Kronstadt, a military installation more than 850 kilometres from Ukraine's border. Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed the strikes on energy facilities as "not critical". No Russian confirmation of a strike on Kronstadt, a major naval base near St Petersburg, was provided.

Ukraine has intensified strikes on Russian energy infrastructure during the current year, inflicting damage on refineries and contributing to petrol shortages across Russia. In separate incidents reported overnight, the governor of Bryansk region said a drone strike had killed one person, with several others wounded. The Russian-installed governor of Crimea reported one death and multiple injuries from drone strikes in that region. The governor of Pskov region stated that more than 30 drones had been shot down overnight.