Ukraine drone attack sets St Petersburg oil sites ablaze, one reported killed

Summary

ABC News reports Ukrainian attacks set an oil export terminal ablaze in St Petersburg; CBC reports strikes set a terminal and a depot ablaze as Kyiv launched more than 1,000 drones at Russia. France 24 reports at least one person was killed, five others were hospitalized, and fires broke out at an oil refinery and depot. Euronews and Africanews report fires at industrial and logistics facilities, with Russian officials saying 126 drones were intercepted in the surrounding region.

Timeline

1. Al Jazeera

   18 Oct 2026, 04:51 UTCSource ↗

   Al Jazeera says social-media video showed multiple explosions in St Petersburg after a suspected Ukrainian drone swarm.

2. CBC

   18 Oct 2026, 10:48 UTCSource ↗

   CBC reports that Ukrainian strikes set an oil export terminal and a depot ablaze on Sunday as Kyiv launched more than 1,000 drones at Russia in one of its largest aerial attacks of the war.

3. Financial Times

   18 Oct 2026, 11:01 UTCSource ↗

   The Financial Times describes the attack as the biggest Ukrainian drone attack on St Petersburg and says strikes hit tech infrastructure after Russia targeted electricity substations in Ukraine.

4. NDTV

   18 Oct 2026, 11:30 UTCSource ↗

   NDTV's headline says Ukraine fired 1,000 drones at Russia and reports that people watched a burning oil terminal after an air attack in Saint Petersburg.

5. France 24

   18 Oct 2026, 12:03 UTCSource ↗

   France 24 reports that the attack killed at least one person, hospitalised five others and sparked fires at an oil refinery and depot; it also says Kyiv accused Russia of violating Washington's energy ceasefire dozens of times.

6. RTÉ

   18 Oct 2026, 13:14 UTCSource ↗

   RTÉ reports that Moscow said a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack caused fires at an oil refinery and depot in Saint Petersburg.

7. Euronews

   18 Oct 2026, 14:45 UTCSource ↗

   Euronews reports that a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack sparked fires at industrial and logistics facilities in St Petersburg, and that Russian officials said 126 drones were intercepted in the surrounding region.

8. Africanews

   18 Oct 2026, 14:45 UTCSource ↗

   Africanews reports that a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack sparked fires at industrial and logistics facilities in St Petersburg, and that Russian officials said 126 drones were intercepted in the surrounding region.

9. ABC News

   19 Oct 2026, 06:42 UTCSource ↗

   ABC News reports that Ukrainian attacks set an oil export terminal ablaze in St Petersburg; its headline says Ukraine launched more than 1,000 drones at Russia.