Ukraine on Sunday launched massive drone attacks on Russia’s key oil terminal and a data centre in St. Petersburg, causing fires and plunging thousands of residents in darkness.
Ukraine’s latest attack is in defiance of the demand by United State President, Donald Trump, that President Volodymyr Zelensky, stop hitting Russian energy infrastructure, which he called a disgrace.
Mr Zelensky had in an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press” warned that Mr Trump’s siding with Vladimir Putin, would be a “historic mistake.”
Russian authorities said Ukraine targeted the St. Petersburg Oil Terminal, which handles up to 12.5 million tons yearly.
It added that the attacks led to the death of one person while five others were injured, including damage to some residential homes damaged as well.
Russia’s defense ministry stated that it shot down 1,015 Ukrainian drones overnight in different parts of the country, while Ukraine’s Fire Point company, makers of the the drones, said there was a fire on the terminal’s grounds following the strike.
A Russian distribution company, Ozon, stated that a logistics centre in St. Petersburg was also attacked.
Russian state media called the attack “one of the biggest drone attacks of the year.”
St. Petersburg governor, Alexander Beglov, in a post on Telegram, stated that buildings and residential homes were damaged in the attack.
Mr Beglov said, “Emergency services continue to work on extinguishing fires at the St. Petersburg oil terminal, the Ruchyi oil depot and industrial warehouses in the Kolpinsky District.”
Also, in the Leningrad region, Governor Alexander Drozdenko said two electrical substations were struck, leaving about 20,000 residents without power on Sunday.
Mr Trump last week claimed that Russia and Ukraine agreed to stop attacking each other’s energy infrastructure, as he was making efforts to crash oil and diesel prices.
However, neither Russia nor Ukraine acknowledged that there was such a pact. While Ukraine briefly stopped strikes before resuming, Russia continued striking Ukraine’s energy plants and cities.
“Since the American President announced the energy ceasefire a week ago, Russia has deliberately attacked Ukraine’s energy and oil and gas sectors 76 times,” Mr Zelensky said on X Sunday.
Mr Zelensky also noted that Russian forces launched nearly 2,700 drones, 1,700 aerial bombs and 66 missiles at Ukraine over the past week.
“The Russians are trying to cause a blackout. And America should see that Russia is not taking any reciprocal steps in response to sanctions relief or agreements,” Mr Zelensky also wrote on X.
Mr Trump waived sanctions on imports of Russian diesel, exempting Russia from economic penalties invoked by the US Congress, which Mr Zelensky, in an interview on Sunday with NBC’s Meet the Press, said, “strengthened Putin’s war against Ukraine while Moscow was failing on the battlefield.”
He added that it was giving “more support for Russian aggression.”