Ukrainian drones attacked Russian oil facilities on the Baltic Sea near St. Petersburg on Saturday, according to the local governor.
St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov said Russia’s second-largest city was hit by a “large-scale” drone strike, but there were no casualties.
President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Ukraine carried out the attacks, saying they were aimed at disrupting Russian energy revenues amid Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
“Ukraine’s defense forces attacked port oil infrastructure that generates revenue for Russia’s war, and also attacked Kronstadt, a key military target more than 850 km (528 miles) from Ukraine’s state border,” he wrote on social media.
Widespread wave of attacks across Russia
The attack comes weeks after Ukraine targeted St. Petersburg on the opening day of an annual economic conference, where Russian President Vladimir Putin was speaking.
On Saturday, Alexander Drozdenko, the governor of the Leningrad region that surrounds the federal city of St. Petersburg, said drones had also struck the port of Vysotsk, about 170 km (105 miles) northwest of St. Petersburg on the Gulf of Finland, a facility that handles oil, grain, coal and liquefied natural gas.
He said that 72 drones have been shot down in the Leningrad region.
The Russian Defense Ministry said 389 Ukrainian combat drones were intercepted overnight across the country.
Finland’s public broadcaster Yle reported that the country has imposed temporary aviation and maritime restrictions in the eastern Gulf of Finland due to Ukrainian drone attacks.+
Edited by: Sam Dusan Inayatullah
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