Photo: Getty Images
Drones launched a large-scale attack on Moscow, St. Petersburg and Russia’s Leningrad region overnight on October 18, reportedly striking an oil terminal and prompting flight restrictions at three airports.
According to monitoring channel Exilenova+ and Russian outlet ASTRA, drones targeted an oil-loading port near St. Petersburg, where a storage tank caught fire. Russian air defenses were active, with multiple missile launches reported.
Leningrad Region Governor Alexander Drozdenko claimed that 57 drones had been shot down. In the settlement of Nizino, debris damaged four parked cars and caused a fire. Residents also reported explosions in Kudrovo.
Some residents of St. Petersburg reportedly did not receive text alerts warning of the drone threat, while others received them with significant delays.
Moscow reports dozens of intercepted drones
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin began reporting drone interceptions at around 11 p.m. By 3 a.m., he had claimed that 87 drones had been shot down.
Sobyanin did not report any damage or casualties but said emergency services were working at locations where debris had fallen. Explosions were also heard in the Moscow region.
Flight restrictions imposed at three airports
Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency restricted arrivals and departures at two Moscow airports and St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport amid the attacks.
Update, 5:51 a.m.
Ukraine’s Defense Forces struck the St. Petersburg Oil Terminal using FP-1 drones, according to Ukrainian drone manufacturer Fire Point.
The terminal is one of the largest oil-handling facilities in the region, receiving, storing and shipping petroleum products, including for export. Its annual capacity is 12.5 million tonnes. A fire broke out at the site following the reported strike.
Moscow has faced large-scale drone attacks on several consecutive nights. On October 14, Ukrainian forces reportedly launched hundreds of drones toward the Russian capital in one of the largest attacks of its kind.
On October 16, drone activity prompted restrictions at four Moscow-area airports: Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky. Three of them suspended operations again the following night.
