Ukraine launches more than 1,000 drones at Russian oil terminals and data centers
3 sourcesUpdated Oct 18, 20261 min read
Ukraine launched more than 1,000 drones overnight Sunday, October 18, 2026, at St. Petersburg and Moscow-area targets. Fires broke out at the St. Petersburg Oil Terminal and the Ruchyi oil depot. Gov. Alexander Beglov said one person was killed and five were injured, and emergency services were still extinguishing fires at the terminal, the Ruchyi oil depot and industrial warehouses in the Kolpinsky District. Gov. Alexander Drozdenko said two transformer substations in Yanino were struck, leaving about 20,000 people without power. Russia's Ministry of Defense said about 1,015 drones were shot down. Russian state-run media reported that an Ozon logistics center and a VK data center were targeted. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that since the American president announced the energy ceasefire a week ago, Russia deliberately attacked Ukraine's energy and oil and gas sectors 76 times, launching almost 2,700 attack drones, 1,700 aerial bombs and 66 missiles over the week, mainly at energy facilities to cause a blackout. He said tens of thousands of families remain without power and that America should see Russia is not taking reciprocal steps after sanctions relief or agreements. Trump's announced ceasefire lasted only hours before Russian strikes resumed. Over the weekend he waived a sanctions package named after Sen. Lindsey Graham that would have raised tariffs on Russian goods up to 500% and waived tariffs up to 100% on countries buying Russian energy, such as China and India. Contested: Some coverage presents the Ukrainian assault as retaliation for Russian energy strikes; Zelenskyy did not directly address the Ukrainian attacks while citing the Russian tallies.
Where do you stand?
How it spread
What each side asserts, disputes — or leaves out entirely.
Whose framing of this story rings truest to you?
One death and twenty thousand without power seems like a steep price for those data center hits.
Striking oil terminals in St. Petersburg will probably raise fuel prices there for months.
Ukraine sending over a thousand drones at once shows they can hit deep into Russia now.
Places
Most Powerful Countries in the World
25 candidates · 666 votes · vote on the order
Places
Most Powerful Militaries in the World
26 candidates · 609 votes · vote on the order
Politicians
Greatest Political Outsiders Who Won
16 candidates · 0 votes · vote on the order
Politicians
Greatest Speeches by World Leaders
18 candidates · 0 votes · vote on the order
