Overview
- Ukrainian long-range drones hit the Petersburg Oil Terminal and military targets in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, producing large plumes of black smoke and forcing temporary flight restrictions at Pulkovo airport.
- Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces intercepted 354 Ukrainian drones overnight across multiple regions and the Sea of Azov, while Kyiv leaders publicly claimed responsibility for the strikes.
- The St. Petersburg operation came hours after a massive Russian missile-and-drone barrage on Ukrainian cities on Tuesday that Ukrainian officials said killed at least 23 people and wounded many more.
- Russian and Ukrainian reports say the strikes also caused civilian harm in Russian-controlled areas, with local authorities reporting a bus hit in Donetsk that killed several people and fatalities among emergency workers in Smolensk.
- The exchanges underline a wider shift to massed long-range unmanned attacks and air-defence saturation, a dynamic reinforced by official Russian data showing aircraft-sector output up 117% year-on-year in April as both sides scale drone forces.