Ukraine strikes oil terminals near St. Petersburg in Russia
July 4, 2026
Ukrainian drones on Saturday struck Russian oil facilities on the Baltic Sea near St. Petersburg, according to the local governor.
St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov said Russia's second-largest city had come under a "large-scale" drone attack, but there were no casualties.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed Ukraine carried out the attacks, saying they were intended to disrupt Russian energy revenues amid Moscow's war in Ukraine.
"Ukraine's defense forces struck port oil infrastructure that generates revenue for Russia's war, and also hit Kronstadt, an important military target more than 850 km (528 miles) from Ukraine's state border," he wrote on social media.
Broader wave of attacks across Russia
The attack comes weeks after Ukraine targeted St. Petersburg on the opening day of an annual economic conference where Russian President Vladimir Putin was speaking.
On Saturday, Alexander Drozdenko — the governor of the Leningrad region that surrounds the federal city of St. Petersburg — said drones had also struck the port of Vysotsk, about 170 km (105 miles) northwest of St. Petersburg on the Gulf of Finland, a facility that handles oil, grain, coal, and liquefied natural gas.
He added that 72 drones had been shot down over the Leningrad region.
The Russian Defense Ministry said 389 Ukrainian combat drones had been intercepted overnight across the country.
Finland's public broadcaster Yle reported that the country imposed temporary aviation and maritime restrictions in the eastern Gulf of Finland due to the Ukrainian drone attacks.
Russian says its forces captured Kostiantynivka in Ukraine
Russia said its forces have taken control of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kostiantynivka, a key target in the Donetsk region.
Putin called the move a strategic achievement.
"We all know that this city is a key transport and large industrial centre of Donbas," Putin said.
Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov described the advance as part of a wider effort to secure all of Donetsk.
Zelenskyy insisted Ukrainian forces were still in control of Kostiantynivka, writing on X: "Of course, that is not true. It is just another Russian lie, an attempt to generate some kind of a news story."
"If Kostiantynivka were under Russian control, then perhaps [Russian President Vladimir] Putin would have no problem meeting me there to find a diplomatic way to finally end this war," he added.
The Ukrainian military's General Staff also said Kostiantynivka remained under Kyiv's control.
"Military units and subunits of the 19th Army Corps of the Eastern Grouping continue to conduct defensive operations on designated lines within the town and on its approaches," it said in a statement.
Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah and Wesley Dockery
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