{"id":533579,"date":"2026-07-05T02:19:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T02:19:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/533579\/"},"modified":"2026-07-05T02:19:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T02:19:11","slug":"ukrainian-drones-hit-oil-terminal-in-russias-st-petersburg-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/533579\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukrainian drones hit oil terminal in Russia\u2019s St Petersburg \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ukraine<\/a> launched a big overnight drone attack on St Petersburg and the surrounding area, hitting the Russian<\/a> city\u2019s oil terminal and port infrastructure in the wider region.<\/p>\n

The St Petersburg governor, Alexander Beglov, said the city had been subjected to a \u201clarge-scale\u201d drone attack that had hit its oil terminal. He said there were no casualties and the aftermath of the attack had been dealt with.<\/p>\n

Alexander Drozdenko, governor of the surrounding Leningrad region, said a drone had struck the area of Vysotsk port, about 170km northwest of St Petersburg on the Baltic Sea. The port handles oil, grain, coal and liquefied natural gas.<\/p>\n

Drozdenko said 72 drones had been shot down over the region, and there was minor damage in several settlements. He gave no information on the impact on Vysotsk port.<\/p>\n

In a post on Telegram, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy<\/a> described the attack as part of Ukraine\u2019s \u201clong-range sanctions\u201d against Russia.<\/p>\n

Zelenskiy said: \u201cUkraine\u2019s defence forces struck port oil infrastructure that generates revenue for Russia\u2019s war, and also hit Kronstadt, an important military target more than 850km from Ukraine\u2019s state border.\u201d<\/p>\n

Russian president Vladimir Putin<\/a> dismissed the strikes on energy facilities as \u201cnot critical\u201d.<\/p>\n

There was no Russian confirmation of a strike on Kronstadt, a major naval base near St Petersburg that Ukraine also targeted in an attack last month.<\/p>\n

Ukraine has intensified strikes on Russian energy infrastructure this year, inflicting heavy damage on refineries and causing petrol shortages across the country\u2019s 11 time zones.<\/p>\n

Last night, our Ukrainian long-range sanctions against Russia over this war reached targets near St. Petersburg. Ukraine’s Defense Forces struck port oil infrastructure that generates revenue for Russia’s war, and there were also successful strikes on Kronstadt \u2013 an important\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/bMHY3cL3rM<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Volodymyr Zelenskyy \/ \u0412\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0434\u0438\u043c\u0438\u0440 \u0417\u0435\u043b\u0435\u043d\u0441\u044c\u043a\u0438\u0439 (@ZelenskyyUa) July 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Elsewhere, the governor of Russia\u2019s Bryansk region and the Russian-installed governor of Crimea said drone strikes had killed one person in each region, with several more wounded.<\/p>\n

South of St Petersburg, the governor of Pskov region said more than 30 drones had been shot down overnight. He reported minor damage and injuries, including at a factory in the town of Velikiye Luki.<\/p>\n

Zelenskiy also denied Russian claims that the eastern city of Kostiantynivka had been captured by Moscow\u2019s military.<\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s military told Putin on Friday that its forces had taken control of the city, a target that the Kremlin has long sought in its advance through the Donetsk region.<\/p>\n

Zelenskiy wrote on X: \u201cOf course, that is not true. It is just another Russian lie, an attempt to generate some kind of a news story.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Kostiantynivka were under Russian control, then perhaps Putin would have no problem meeting me there to find a diplomatic way to finally end this war.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Troop casualties in Ukraine war top 2 million, study findsOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Ukraine\u2019s general staff also said Kostiantynivka remained under the control of Ukrainian forces.<\/p>\n

It said in a statement: \u201cMilitary units and subunits of the 19th army corps of the eastern grouping continue to conduct defensive operations on designated lines within the town and on its approaches.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kostiantynivka is the southernmost of four key settlements that form a defensive line central to Ukraine\u2019s effort to hold a final part of the heavily industrialised Donetsk region.<\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s defence ministry also claimed it had taken five villages in eastern Ukraine: Shyikivka, Novyi Myr, Cherneshchyna and Druzhelyubivka in Kharkiv region, and Vasylivka in Donetsk region. \u2013 Guardian<\/p>\n