St Petersburg attack expands risks for Russia's energy and logistics infrastructure

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St Petersburg attack risks

Highlights

Drone attacks cause fires at St Petersburg's oil terminal, hit a power substation causing outages, and disrupt Moscow and St Petersburg airports with hundreds of flight cancellations.
Russia's defence ministry reports shooting down 1,015 drones nationwide on Sunday, including 512 in the Moscow area, marking a significant escalation in attacks on critical infrastructure.
Despite U.S. pressure for an energy ceasefire, Ukraine resumes strikes on Russian refineries, while Zelenskyy claims over 76 Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy assets in the past week.

Damage spreads across energy and transport assets

As reported by Financial Times, fires break out at the oil terminal in St Petersburg's port after the overnight attack, with governor Alexander Beglov saying a large plume of black smoke rises over the city. Local authorities say air defences shoot down 146 drones over St Petersburg on Sunday, while one person is killed and nine are injured.

According to Astra, parts of Russia's second city lose power for several hours after drones hit an electricity substation. State-run VK says one of its data centres is also hit, and online marketplace Ozon says a fire breaks out at a warehouse, marking the first Ukrainian strike on logistics infrastructure since mid-September.

Airports in Moscow and St Petersburg close for several hours during the attack. Russia's defence ministry says 1,015 drones are shot down across the country on Sunday, including 512 in the Moscow area, as the widening campaign adds to travel disruption after hundreds of flight cancellations in the past two weeks.

Ceasefire dispute deepens pressure on Kyiv-Washington ties

Ukraine's campaign signals it is continuing strikes on Russian refineries despite U.S. pressure to halt attacks on energy infrastructure. Kyiv had paused that effort after President Donald Trump said last Sunday that the two countries agreed to an "energy ceasefire", struck a diesel deal with Moscow and waived new sanctions on Russian energy exports.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the arrangement fails to stop Russian attacks, with more than 76 strikes recorded on Ukraine's energy, oil and gas facilities over the past week, causing major outages. He says Russia's main targets are energy facilities and argues Washington should see that Moscow is not taking reciprocal steps in response to sanctions relief or agreements.

Zelenskyy also says Russia launches 180 drones, one ballistic missile and several Banderol cruise missiles overnight into Sunday, hitting electricity substations in central and southern Ukraine. Ukraine's air force says it shoots down 152 drones, while Zelenskyy tells reporters he expects the U.S. to lift more sanctions on Russia and says the earlier waiver "only helps the Russians."

The confrontation is pushing Kyiv's relationship with the White House deeper into strain after Zelenskyy's February 2025 clash with Trump in the Oval Office. Ukraine also says unexplained speed limits on the Starlink communications system used by its military for drone operations amount to "a planned operation," adding another point of pressure on its battlefield capabilities.

Our earlier article on Black Sea shipping risks covered fires aboard two chemical tankers near Romania’s Danube canal approach, with crew members reported missing and rescue efforts hampered by rough seas. We noted that a string of recent drone-linked incidents in the area was raising the threat level for civilian shipping and putting pressure on regional commodity flows, especially grain exports, as EU leaders discussed steps to curb attacks on non-military vessels.

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