A major Ukrainian drone assault set fire to a Russian oil terminal and a data centre in St Petersburg, despite Donald Trump’s decision to waive sanctions and “slow down” satellite support.
One person died and five others were injured in the attack, while fires spread to industrial warehouses across the city, St Petersburg governor Alexander Beglov said on Sunday.
Russian online retailer Ozon said flames had engulfed its logistics hub in St Petersburg. A data centre in the Leningrad region, operated by internet company VK, was also targeted.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said Vladimir Putin’s air-defence forces had intercepted 1,015 Ukrainian drones over several Russian regions overnight.
State-run news agency TASS reported that departures at St Petersburg’s main airport, Pulkovo, were also disrupted.
The assault is likely to deepen tensions between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his US counterpart, Mr Trump.
The US President signed an executive order this week blocking what he called “hellish sanctions” approved by Congress against Russia over the war.
The proposed 500 per cent tariffs on Russian energy imports had threatened to derail Mr Trump’s plans to increase the supply of Russian diesel to international markets.
A Russian oil terminal and a data centre in St Petersburg caught fire after Ukraine launched a large-scale drone assault
Smoke rises over St Petersburg after an air attack struck the city’s oil terminal
Mr Trump is seeking to bring down fuel prices in the United States before the crucial midterm elections on November 3.
His decision followed reports that Starlink’s internet service had been partly restricted for Ukraine’s armed forces, along with threats to suspend intelligence-sharing with Kyiv. Mr Zelensky criticised both measures.
After Mr Zelensky resumed strikes on Russian oil refineries this week, Mr Trump described the attacks as a “disgrace” and said he was “more difficult to deal with than [Vladimir] Putin”.
Speculation has grown that the relationship between the two leaders is at “breaking point”, and the latest strikes are unlikely to ease the dispute.
Images showed towering plumes of orange and black smoke spreading across the St Petersburg skyline and lighting up the city.
VK said its services had returned to normal and were available to users following the attack.
“A large-scale UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) attack continues to be repelled,” Leningrad region governor Alexander Drozdenko wrote on Telegram.
He said falling debris damaged homes, cars and power lines, causing brief electricity outages, but reported no injuries.
Mr Beglov said the Ukrainian assault had sparked a fire at the Saint Petersburg Oil Terminal, which was also hit by Ukraine in June.
Pulkovo airport was restricting operations “for safety reasons”, Mr Beglov added.
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One person was killed and five injured in the strike with fires spreading to industrial warehouses in the city, governor Alexander Beglov said on Sunday
Pictures showed plumes of orange and black smoke drifting into the St Petersburg sky and illuminating the city
The attack follows quickly on from a relentless Ukrainian drone attack which prompted unprecedented airport chaos in Russia.
Ukraine flew dozens of drones into Moscow’s airspace to deliberately wreak havoc.
Fury and frustration grew as travellers faced hours or even days of delays caused by Putin refusing to halt his war.
Footage showed angry passengers forced to sleep on floors at Moscow’s four airports, which suffered more than 1,000 hours of closures this month.
Check-in staff were reduced to tears as Mr Zelensky started to carry out his threat to close the skies around the Russian capital.
Sheremetyevo Airport was hit by more than 100 disruptions on Saturday while Vnukovo Airport suffered 150 delays or cancellations.
Mayor of Moscow Sergei Sobyanin said: ‘Seventy-five drones heading towards Moscow have been destroyed. Emergency services specialists are working at the crash sites.’
On Monday, Kirill Dmitriev, special presidential envoy, described Mr Trump’s decision to waive the US sanctions and tariffs targeting Russia’s energy revenues as a ‘historic moment’.
Mr Dmitriev said: ‘The Trump administration’s suspension of the Graham Act is an important and truly historic moment.’
He added that the sanctions would have caused ‘serious damage first and foremost to the US economy and global markets’.
The Graham Act, named after the late senator Lindsey Graham, the primary backer of the legislation, was due to be implemented in two days, and was set to introduce sanctions on Russian officials, banks and a shadow fleet of tankers that keeps Russian energy moving.
Speaking to broadcaster Newsmax this week, President Trump blamed Mr Zelensky for the war, claiming he – not Putin – had ‘destroyed’ Ukraine.
A huge crowd of passengers left stranded at an airport in Moscow after Ukrainian drone attacks this week caused flights to be delayed for hours
In an interview with the Financial Times, the Ukrainian leader said the cutting off of US intelligence sharing and the simultaneous weakening of the Starlink satellite internet service was ‘dangerous’ for civilians.
He added: ‘The block [on attacking refineries] is out. We’re done.’
‘Well, I think that’s a disgrace,’ Trump said yesterday, adding that Kyiv’s recent strikes were driving up global energy prices.
Ukrainians wanted a deal with Russia but ‘they’re not going to do it with him,’ he added. ‘He says he wants to settle but he doesn’t. No, I’m not a big fan of Zelensky.’
