Ukraine attacks St Petersburg as Russia claims key town

MOSCOW: Russia said on Saturday Ukrainian drones hit an oil terminal in Saint Petersburg, struck a port near Finland and fell on the historical Peterhof complex without causing damage. Kyiv's barrage on Russia's second city — President Vladimir Putin's hometown — came amid opposing statements from both sides over who was in control of a key town in eastern Ukraine. Moscow vowed to respond, saying it downed almost 500 Ukrainian drones and 10 of Kyiv's Flamingo missiles overnight.

The Ukrainian attack came after a Russian strike on Kyiv this week killed 30 people. They also hit hours after a Russian attack on the centre of the Ukrainian city of Sumy killed four people, including a child, according to Kyiv. Moscow said it had seized the key town of Kostyantynivka in the east, but Zelensky called the claim a "lie", with Kyiv's army saying fighting was ongoing. Zelensky also claimed Kyiv struck the Kronstadt naval base in Saint Petersburg.

Firefighters work at the site of one of the biggest Ukrainian poultry farms which was hit by a Russian air strike in the town of Chornobaivka. — Reuters

Leningrad region governor Alexander Drozdenko said the port of Vysotsk, near the border with Nato-member Finland, had been hit. "Debris has been reported in the area of the port of Vysotsk," Drozdenko said on social media early on Saturday, while saying the "attack was still being repelled." Saint Petersburg governor Alexander Beglov said drones hit "the area of an oil terminal in the Kirovsk district" of Saint Petersburg. "Air defence forces shot down 72 drones, one of which crashed in Peterhof. There were no casualties or damage," he added. The Peterhof Palace is a giant estate of gardens and a palace built in the 18th century under Russian Tsar Peter I.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defence had shot down 62 drones headed for the Russian capital. Moscow said one person was killed in the border Bryansk region and another in Russian-annexed Crimea. Authorities in the border Belgorod region said "infrastructure facilities" had been damaged by the attacks, leading to "disruptions to electricity and water supply."

In Russia's Kaliningrad exclave, there were delays at the airport taking passengers to mainland Russia due to the strikes, according to a reporter there. Several Russian regions have also experienced fuel shortages, causing hours-long queues for petrol, due to Ukraine hitting oil and fuel depots. — AFP