St. Petersburg Burns as Ukrainian Drones Hit Major Oil Terminal During Russia’s Economic Showcase

Ukrainian long-range drones struck one of Russia’s largest Baltic oil terminals in St. Petersburg, setting fuel tanks ablaze just as the city opened its flagship international economic forum for foreign business guests, according to footage published by the OSINT community Exilenova+ and later confirmed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Videos filmed by local residents showed fires burning across the territory of the facility after the strike. Witnesses reported multiple explosions in the city, while footage also captured Russian air defense systems attempting to intercept the drones.

The target was JSC Petersburg Oil Terminal, which is one of Russia’s largest facilities for handling oil products in the Baltic region.

Leningrad region governor Alexander Drozdenko claimed around 7 a.m. that Russian air defenses had allegedly shot down 50 drones over the region. He did not comment on the fire burning in St. Petersburg after the strike.

The Petersburg Oil Terminal covers 37 hectares and has 21 storage tanks for light and dark oil products. Its annual throughput capacity is 12.5 million tons.

Located inside the Great Port of St. Petersburg, the terminal receives fuel delivered by rail, river transport, and road vehicles before loading it onto sea tankers for export.

The facility has been designated as strategically important for Russia’s security.

Footage from eyewitnesses showed thick black smoke rising from several locations after the strikes.

“Everything is burning there! One, two, three… It’s just brutal. What should we do? As long as it doesn’t hit the building,” one local resident said while filming the aftermath.

Russian media also reported delays and cancellations of outbound flights at Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg on the morning of the attack.

The timing of the strike was especially notable because the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum opened in the city on June 3 and is scheduled to run through June 6. Foreign business representatives were expected to attend the event. It remains unclear how the drone attack will affect the forum.

Zelenskyy later confirmed that Ukrainian long-range strikes had hit the Petersburg Oil Terminal, along with other targets on Russian territory.

“Our long-range sanctions carried out by the warriors of the Security Service of Ukraine, the Unmanned Systems Forces, the Special Operations Forces, the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine have yielded good results. Important facilities on Russian territory were hit last night,” Zelenskyy said.

According to the Ukrainian leader, the terminal is part of Russia’s oil industry, serving the war.

“Among them was the Petersburg Oil Terminal. The distance from Ukraine’s state border to this facility of Russia’s oil industry, which serves the war, is about 1,100 kilometers. Purely military targets at the Kronstadt base were also hit,” he said.

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Zelenskyy added that another strike targeted an enterprise in Russia’s Tambov region involved in weapons production, nearly 600 kilometers from the front line.

“Another target was an enterprise in the Tambov region involved in the production of Russian weapons. The distance from the frontline is almost 600 kilometers,” Zelenskyy said.

“I thank our warriors for their precision. Ukraine’s plan for long-range sanctions is being implemented exactly as needed to bring peace closer. Glory to Ukraine!” he added.

Earlier, reports emerged that Ukrainian drone attacks against Russian energy infrastructure reached a record high in May, prompting Moscow to ban jet fuel exports and threatening to hurt further processing that’s at a 16-year low.

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