- Ukrainian drones attacked infrastructure in St. Petersburg and surrounding areas, causing multiple fires.
- The oil and gas terminal and VK data center were damaged, affecting the power supply of about 20,000 residents.
- The municipal emergency alert system failed to timely warn residents, indicating flaws in the system.
- The Ozon e-commerce logistics center was also attacked, resulting in fires and service disruptions.
Ukrainian drones attacked multiple infrastructures in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region in the early hours of October 18, causing a fire at an oil and gas terminal and a fuel depot, and damaging a data center operated by technology company VK, disrupting power supply for approximately 20,000 residents. Reports indicate that the targets also included the Ozon e-commerce logistics center and a bridge on the western high-speed diameter road in the city. Russian officials confirmed the nighttime drone attack and the damage to infrastructure, while open-source investigators reported on the fires at several locations. This attack follows earlier strikes by Ukraine on Russian technological infrastructure in early October, including Yandex data centers in the Vladimir, Ryazan, and Kaluga regions, as well as an attack on the Sberbank data center in the Saratov region.
Damage to Infrastructure from the Attack
Alexander Beglov, the governor of St. Petersburg, confirmed that the city was attacked by drones, with fires reported in four districts. He acknowledged that the Petersburg oil and gas terminal was damaged; this facility serves as a major oil transshipment center for the Russian Baltic region. Open-source analysis from independent Russian media Astra also confirmed the fire at the terminal and another fire at the Ruchyi fuel depot in the Krasnogvardeysky district of the city. Reports indicate that the fuel depot has a storage capacity of 3,900 cubic meters, approximately 137,400 cubic feet, and handles AI-92 and AI-95 gasoline as well as commercial diesel.
The reported damage could affect facilities for storing and transporting fuel, although the extent of operational disruptions at both locations remains unclear.
The role of the oil terminal in regional fuel logistics makes it a critical piece of infrastructure, but available reports do not specify how much storage or processing capacity has been lost. Astra also reported that the municipal emergency alert system failed to warn residents in advance, with notifications arriving only after the impact or significantly delayed. This statement raises another concern regarding the local alert system's ability to provide timely information to people in affected areas during nighttime attacks.
Flaws in the Municipal Alert System
The attack also extended to the Leningrad region, where reports indicate that drones struck a data center operated by VK, the technology group behind the VKontakte social network and other online services. The facility is located in Novosergievka in the Vsevolozhsk district. VK representatives stated that their services were still operating normally, but users across Russia reported connectivity issues and outages affecting VKontakte and its broader platform. Investigators from Astra reported that a power substation adjacent to the data center was also damaged.
Alexander Drozdenko, the governor of Leningrad province, confirmed the damage to the power distribution infrastructure, which led to emergency power outages affecting approximately 20,000 residents.
Current reports do not clarify whether the reported online disruptions were directly caused by the damage to the data center, issues at the nearby substation, or other impacts from the attack. Russian e-commerce company Ozon confirmed that the aerial assault resulted in a fire at its fulfillment center located on Sofiyskaya Street in the Kolpino district of St. Petersburg. The facility covers an area of approximately 850,000 square feet and is one of the company's main logistics centers in Northwestern Russia.
Item Specification Fuel Depot Storage Capacity 3,900 cubic meters Fulfillment Center Area 850,000 square feet
Impact of the Attack on Infrastructure
This drone strike highlights Ukraine's ongoing attacks on Russian technological infrastructure, particularly targeting energy and data centers. Damage to the oil and gas terminal could affect fuel logistics in Russia, while the attack on the VK data center may have cascading effects on social media and other online services. Additionally, the failure of the municipal alert system to effectively notify residents demonstrates local shortcomings in emergency response. These incidents not only disrupt the lives of local residents but may also pose long-term challenges to the security of Russian infrastructure.