A major oil terminal in Russia’s north-western city of St Petersburg was struck overnight by Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
The Ukrainian president described it as key “infrastructure that generates revenue for Russia’s war”. Ukraine also said a major Russian naval base in the region was hit.
St Petersburg Governor Aleksandr Beglov said the city had been under a “massive” drone attack, admitting the oil terminal was hit but saying there had been no casualties.
Ukraine has recently intensified its long-range drone attacks on Russia’s critical energy infrastructure, causing widespread fuel shortages. Kyiv says nearly 43% of Russia’s oil refining capacity has been “disabled” as a result.
The BBC has not independently verified this figure.
Ukraine says Russian oil and gas facilities are legitimate targets as Moscow relies heavily on fossil fuel exports to finance its full-scale invasion, which began in February 2022.
Russian President Vladimir Putin – who last week made a rare admission that fuel shortages had been caused by Ukrainian attacks – on Saturday signed into law a bill aimed at boosting supplies to the domestic fuel market.
Zelensky said on Saturday morning that the targets hit in St Petersburg and the surrounding region had been about 850km (528 miles) from Ukraine’s border.
The BBC later verified that St Petersburg’s oil terminal had been hit.
Ukraine’s military described the terminal as “one of the largest” in Russia, capable of producing 12.5 million tonnes of petroleum products per year.
It also said it hit a key naval base of the Russian Baltic Fleet in Kronstadt.
Russia has not publicly commented on the claim.
Credit: bbc.com
