Ukraine's drone attack sets St. Petersburg oil facilities ablaze

Summary

A large-scale Ukrainian drone attack set a refinery and other oil facilities in St. Petersburg ablaze, according to reports dated October 18. The Hindu reports that Ukraine launched more than 1,000 drones at Russia, and that a logistics centre belonging to retailer Ozon and a data centre operated by VK were also targeted, as the companies confirmed. Le Monde reports that Kyiv says its retaliatory strikes are fair retribution for years of Russia's offensive and destruction of its energy infrastructure. Channel NewsAsia reports that Ukraine set a Saint Petersburg refinery ablaze in the same drone attack.

Timeline

1. Le Monde

   18 Oct 2026, 13:21 UTCSource ↗

   Le Monde reports that a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack set a Saint Petersburg refinery ablaze and says Kyiv described its retaliatory strikes as retribution for Russia's offensive and destruction of Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

2. Channel NewsAsia

   18 Oct 2026, 14:48 UTCSource ↗

   Channel NewsAsia reports that Ukraine set a Saint Petersburg refinery ablaze in a large-scale drone attack.

3. The Hindu

   18 Oct 2026, 16:51 UTCSource ↗

   The Hindu reports that Ukraine launched more than 1,000 drones at Russia as St. Petersburg oil facilities burned, and says Ozon and VK confirmed that their logistics centre and data centre were targeted.