Saint Petersburg, the hometown of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s second-largest city, came under a large-scale drone attack by Ukrainian forces on the 18th, resulting in fires at energy facilities including an oil terminal and fuel storage, with 1 person killed.
Earlier, on the 11th, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that “Russia and Ukraine had agreed to a ceasefire in the energy sector.” However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared the end of the energy ceasefire four days later, announcing that Russia had attacked Ukraine’s energy facilities and launching a counteroffensive. Within three days, Ukraine carried out the largest drone strike since the Russian invasion, completely undermining Trump’s mediation efforts.
According to TASS and other sources, Ukrainian forces attacked key facilities in Saint Petersburg, including energy facilities such as an oil terminal and fuel storage, as well as logistics centers, with drones early on the same day. Saint Petersburg Mayor Alexander Beglov stated that fires broke out at the attacked oil terminal and fuel storage, and firefighting efforts were underway. One person was killed after being hit by debris from a downed drone, and five others were reportedly injured.
The oil terminal where the fire occurred had been processing 1.1 million tons of fuel monthly. In the Leningrad Oblast surrounding Saint Petersburg, two substations were attacked, causing temporary power outages as operations halted. Leningrad Oblast Governor Alexander Drozdenko stated, “We shot down 145 Ukrainian drones over the Leningrad Oblast throughout the night.”
Some analysts suggest that Ukraine’s apparent disregard for Trump’s energy ceasefire stems from the judgment that “refraining from attacks would be detrimental.” The New York Times pointed out that the U.S. limited the operational speed of Starlink, a satellite internet service necessary for drone operations, and partially eased sanctions on Russia, impacting Ukraine. It reported, “Zelenskyy halted attacks to show a friendly gesture toward Trump but only faced military constraints without gaining any benefits.”
Zelenskyy and Trump criticized each other on social media. Zelenskyy posted on X, “Since the ceasefire announcement, Russia has deliberately attacked Ukraine’s energy, oil, and gas facilities 76 times,” adding, “The U.S. should recognize that Russia has not taken any measures corresponding to sanctions relief or agreements.” Trump wrote on Truth Social that day, “Zelenskyy’s attacks on Russian refineries are severely impacting the global diesel market, but he doesn’t care,” and “He doesn’t want to end this war and probably never has.”
Meanwhile, during the airstrike, a Ukrainian drone deviated from its path due to Russian electronic warfare jamming and entered Lithuanian airspace. This led to Lithuania and Latvia, both NATO and EU members supporting Ukraine, issuing air raid alerts and evacuation advisories for residents. Heorhiy Tyhyh, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, stated, “It is presumed that the drone, which was pursuing a target, was misled by Russian electronic warfare attacks,” adding, “We apologize for the inconvenience, danger, and concerns caused.”
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