Ukraine Strikes St. Petersburg Oil Terminal in Drone Raid

Ukraine launched a massive drone attack against Russia on Wednesday, deploying more than 350 drones to strike multiple cities and regions, in what appeared to be a direct response to Moscow's major offensive the previous day. The most significant strike targeted an oil terminal in the port of St. Petersburg, causing large explosions and sending columns of smoke into the sky at dawn. Several people were wounded in the incident, though no fatalities were reported. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the attacks targeted "important infrastructure on Russian territory," noting that the facilities struck were approximately 1,100 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, demonstrating Ukraine's growing ability to penetrate deep into Russian territory. The timing of the attack proved particularly significant, occurring on the opening day of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, a prestigious three-day event often dubbed the "Russian Davos" that draws approximately 20,000 attendees from 130 countries. Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to deliver the forum's main address on Friday, and the Kremlin has promised "systematic responses" to the attacks. Ukraine also struck the Kronstadt naval base in the Leningrad region, where the Russian Baltic Fleet is headquartered, setting fire to the Boikiy guided missile corvette. EU High Representative Kaja Kallas commented that "Ukraine has intensified attacks on oil facilities because oil finances the war in Ukraine," while noting that "Putin is losing money, men, and momentum." Meanwhile, British intelligence published a report revealing systematic errors by Russian forces in deploying glide bombs, with accidental bombings of Ukrainian areas controlled by Russia or even Russian territory exceeding 100 incidents in both 2024 and 2025. Russian independent intelligence group Astra documented at least 25 glide bombs launched over Russian-controlled territories in 2026 alone, along with 143 such incidents in 2025 and 165 in 2024. The UK Ministry of Defence attributed these repeated errors to "a certain degree of fatigue among military personnel" and "insufficient military training." Russia has previously acknowledged similar incidents, most notably in April 2023 when a Su-34 fighter accidentally dropped a bomb over the city of Belgorod.