Drone attack hits St. Petersburg oil terminal; governor says 1 dead, 5 hospitalized, 12 apartment buildings damaged

ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA

St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov said on the 18th (local time) that a massive attack by military drones had killed one person and injured five others, who were hospitalized. In a post on his official Telegram channel that day, Beglov said 12 apartment buildings and 2 private houses were damaged. Beglov said firefighters from the Emergencies Ministry (MChS) were battling blazes at the Petersburg Oil Terminal, the Ruchyi (Ручьи) oil depot and industrial warehouses in Kolpinsky district. That evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked units in a video address for the timely and accurate delivery of "long-range sanctions" to Russian territory.

Beglov first reports fires in four districts and at oil terminal right after attack

Beglov's first post went up on the 18th. Beglov wrote, "Сегодня ночью Петербург подвергся атаке беспилотных средств военного назначения" (Overnight, Petersburg came under attack by military drones). He called the attackers "украинских нацистов" (Ukrainian Nazis). The expression is Beglov's claim. The post continued with the sentence, "Работают средства ПВО" (Air defence systems are working).

Fires broke out in several parts of the city. Beglov said Emergencies Ministry personnel were putting out fires at civilian infrastructure in four districts, Nevsky, Krasnoselsky, Krasnogvardeysky and Moskovsky, and on the grounds of the Petersburg Oil Terminal. The original reads, "Невском, Красносельском, Красногвардейском, Московском районах и на территории «Петербургского нефтяного терминала»."

Airport operations were also disrupted. Beglov said, "В целях безопасности ограничена работа аэропорта Пулково" (For safety reasons, the operation of Pulkovo airport has been restricted). He also issued a notice that mobile internet could be cut off. Beglov said an emergency headquarters he personally leads was coordinating the response of city agencies. This first post contained the sentence, "Жертв нет" (There are no casualties). On the Telegram screen, the post carries an "edited Oct. 18, 02:36" label, and as of the 22nd its view count was shown as 29,700.

'No casualties' in first post becomes one dead and five hospitalized

The second post went up after the situation had been brought under control. Beglov said, "Воздушная опасность ликвидирована, город восстанавливает пострадавшие объекты гражданской инфраструктуры" (The air danger has been eliminated, and the city is restoring damaged civilian infrastructure facilities).

The casualty count differed from the first post. Beglov said, "один человек погиб, пять пострадали и находятся в больницах" (one person was killed, five were injured and are in hospitals). On damage to homes, he said, "Повреждены 12 многоквартирных жилых домов и 2 частных" (12 apartment buildings and 2 private houses were damaged). He added that repair work was under way at those homes and that residents evacuated overnight were returning home.

The fires were still burning at that point. Beglov said the Emergencies Ministry was extinguishing fires "на территории «Петербургского нефтяного терминала», нефтебазе «Ручьи» и промышленных складах в Колпинском районе" (on the grounds of the Petersburg Oil Terminal, at the Ruchyi oil depot and at industrial warehouses in Kolpinsky district). The oil-related fire sites, a single terminal in the first post, rose to two in the second post with the addition of the oil depot. Beglov said the emergency headquarters was continuing its work.

In neither post did Beglov disclose the number of drones launched or shot down. Neither post gave the identity of the person killed or where the death occurred, or the extent of the damage to the oil terminal or whether it had halted operations.

Same oil terminal was targeted by SBU just over three months earlier

This is not the first time the Petersburg Oil Terminal has been targeted by Ukrainian drones. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced the results of a strike on the terminal on its website on July 4. The SBU said that "As part of the 40-day operation to exert pressure on russia," it struck the Petersburg Oil Terminal in Leningrad region together with the Special Operations Forces, the Unmanned Systems Forces and the Defence Intelligence Directorate. The SBU said the operation carried out a task set by Zelensky.

According to the SBU, Ukrainian drones struck the terminal grounds several times at the time, which "resulted in at least three fires." The SBU described the facility as one of the largest transshipment complexes for crude oil and petroleum products in northwestern Russia. The SBU said the site covers 37 hectares, has 21 storage tanks for petroleum products and has an annual handling capacity of 12.5 million tons.

In that announcement, the SBU claimed that systematic strikes on oil infrastructure deprive Russia of the resources it uses to finance its aggression, complicate fuel supply logistics and raise the Kremlin's cost of war. The SBU said it "will continue to strike legitimate military and economic targets until russia ends the war."

Zelensky thanks units for 'long-range sanctions' the same evening

In a video address posted on the presidential website on the evening of the 18th, Zelensky named the attacking units directly. Zelensky said, "Ще варто відзначити сьогодні воїнів 1-го окремого центру безпілотних систем СБС ЗСУ" (Today the soldiers of the 1st Separate Unmanned Systems Center of the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine should also be noted). As the reason, he cited "за вчасну і влучну доставку наших далекобійних санкцій на територію Росії" (for the timely and accurate delivery of our long-range sanctions to the territory of Russia).

His thanks extended to other agencies. Zelensky thanked "воїнам СБУ, Сил спеціальних операцій ЗСУ та нашим розвідкам – ГУР та СЗР" (the soldiers of the SBU, the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and our intelligence services, the HUR and the SZR) for their accuracy. The place names St. Petersburg and oil terminal did not appear in the address.

In the same address, Zelensky named air defence as the "first priority." Zelensky said, "Працюємо, щоб була ППО. Це, звісно, перший пріоритет" (We are working to have air defence. This is, of course, the first priority). He said Patriot supplies depend on the United States and "може врятувати багато життів" (can save many lives). He also said Ukraine was sharing with partners details of the front-line situation along with "з намаганнями Росії знищити нашу енергетику" (Russia's attempts to destroy our energy).

The same day, the presidential office announced that Zelensky had spoken by phone with U.S. presidential envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. According to the presidential office, Zelensky said he keeps informing partners about Russian attacks "які не припиняються ні на хвилину" (which do not stop for a minute) and about Ukraine's air defence needs. Zelensky said, "Мир приходить тільки завдяки силі і співпраці, що будується на довірі" (Peace comes only through strength and cooperation built on trust).

Russian ballistic missile attack hits Ukraine the following night

The Russian ballistic missile attack was raised as an event of "last night" in a video conference on the 19th between Zelensky and a bipartisan, bicameral delegation of the U.S. Congress. According to the presidential office, Zelensky said Russia's attacks had become more brutal and vile, and said, "Україна не отримала від партнерів жодного попередження про першу хвилю балістичних обстрілів минулої ночі" (Ukraine did not receive any warning from partners about the first wave of ballistic attacks last night).

Zelensky specified the warning system. Zelensky said, "Я кажу передусім про американську систему раннього попередження про ракетні загрози" (I am speaking above all about the American early warning system for missile threats), and said this was already the third time in a short period that Ukraine had not received such a ballistic missile warning.

He also reported casualties. According to the presidential office, Zelensky said six people were killed in a Russian Shahed drone attack on Kharkiv region. Among the dead were a mother and a child just over a year old (зокрема мама та її дитина, якій було трохи більше року). Zelensky said, "Ось як Росія відповідає на звільнення від санкцій і зменшення тиску" (This is how Russia responds to sanctions relief and reduced pressure).