Ukraine hits St Petersburg oil sites as Russia attacks power grid

The latest escalation has brought attacks on Ukrainian electricity supplies alongside Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil facilities. On October 18, Ukraine launched more than 1,000 drones across Russia, setting an oil export terminal ablaze in St Petersburg, CBC Top Stories reported.

The attacks followed days of Russian bombardment of Ukraine's power grid. Euronews reported on October 14 that Ukrainian authorities said energy infrastructure had been targeted, just days after US President Donald Trump announced an "energy ceasefire".

On October 11, Russia attacked a data centre in Odesa and a ship in the Black Sea port of Chornomorsk, according to Infobae. The following day, Russian authorities said their forces had struck a cargo ship carrying military equipment toward Odesa, Infobae reported.

On October 14, a Russian missile and drone barrage killed three people and left 600,000 without power in Ukraine, according to Times of India. Reporting specifically on Kyiv, Euronews said one person was killed and 20 injured in overnight attacks.

Ukraine also struck Russian military aviation. On October 15, Infobae reported that the Ukrainian navy had hit six Russian Su-34M bombers at an airfield in Voronezh with Ukrainian-made Neptune cruise missiles. On October 16, the outlet reported that Ukrainian drones had halted operations for hours at numerous airports in European Russia, citing Russia's aviation agency, Rosaviatsia.

Russian attacks on October 16 killed at least eight people and injured around 60 across Ukraine, while electricity supplies to more than one million people were disrupted, according to Times now. Arab News reported strikes across nine regions, citing officials who said hundreds of thousands of households had lost power.

On October 18, Russian authorities said air defences had shot down 1,015 Ukrainian drones across 15 regions, Infobae reported. In St Petersburg, an attack set an oil terminal on fire and hit a data centre on the city's outskirts, according to ABC. Russian authorities reported one death, ARD Tagesschau said.

Both countries were reporting fresh attacks on October 18. Zelenskyy said Russian forces had targeted Ukraine's energy sector in four regions on Saturday night, while attacks on residential buildings killed two people, according to Euronews. Russia's defence ministry said its forces had attacked Ukrainian transport and military industry infrastructure, including long-range drone production workshops, RT en Español - Noticias reported.

The Russian interception total remains an official claim, rather than an independently established count in the supplied reports. DIE WELT reported that Russian authorities claimed 126 drones had been shot down over the St Petersburg region, where debris caused power cuts and an oil storage facility was hit.

The reported energy ceasefire has not stopped attacks on energy infrastructure. Zelenskyy accused Moscow of continuing to break it, Al Jazeera reported. The coverage does not establish agreed terms or a mechanism for enforcing the arrangement.

Restoring electricity is an immediate concern in Ukraine. World News CNA reported on October 16 that crews had restored supplies in many affected areas, but some faced blackouts lasting at least 24 hours as attacks continued. Further strikes leave the duration of those repairs uncertain.

The political response also matters. NDTV Top Stories reported that Trump had criticised Kyiv's attacks on Russian oil infrastructure amid deepening tensions with Ukraine. Whether those tensions affect efforts to halt energy strikes remains unresolved in the coverage.