During the night of October 18, the city of Saint Petersburg and the surrounding Leningrad Region experienced a large-scale drone assault that targeted critical infrastructure and residential areas. The coordinated strikes reportedly triggered massive fires at an oil terminal, industrial warehouses, and energy facilities, plunging parts of the region into chaos and resulting in casualties.

Saint Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov acknowledged that the Saint Petersburg oil terminal and the 'Ruchi' oil depot were directly hit, sparking intense blazes. The attacks also affected the residential sector, damaging at least 12 multi-story apartment buildings and two private homes. According to emergency services, one person was killed, and 15 others sustained injuries, all requiring hospitalization.

Furthermore, the strikes purportedly impacted an Ozon e-commerce warehouse—where a fire broke out, though employees were safely evacuated—as well as a suburban data center belonging to the VKontakte social media platform. Transport and utility infrastructure were not spared, with a drawbridge, the 'Vostochnaya' electrical substation, and a narcological hospital on Vasilyevsky Island suffering structural damage.

The aerial raid caused widespread power outages across several districts, leaving over 20,000 residents in the Leningrad Region without electricity. Pulkovo Airport was temporarily shut down, forcing passengers and staff to seek refuge in bomb shelters before flight operations resumed. Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that over 1,000 drones were intercepted or downed nationwide overnight, though the extensive destruction in Russia's second-largest city highlights ongoing vulnerabilities.

Source: kun.uz