Ukraine launches 1,000 drones into Russia, attacks set St. Petersburg oil facilities on fire

Smoke rose on Sunday from an oil export terminal and depot in St. Petersburg, which was set on fire after Ukraine has launched more than 1,000 drones towards Russia. It was one of the largest air attacks of the war on kyiv.

At least one person was killed and five others injured in the attack in St. Petersburg, which sparked fires at the St. Petersburg oil terminal and the Ruchi oil depot, local governor Alexander Beglov said.

A logistics center owned by Russian retailer Ozon and a data center operated by Russian tech giant VK were also targeted, the companies confirmed.

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Smoke rises above the city following an air attack on the St. Petersburg oil terminal on October 18, 2026, amid the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

AFP via Getty Images


Russia’s Defense Ministry said Sunday its forces destroyed 1,015 Ukrainian drones in 15 Russian regions, Ukraine’s annexed Crimea peninsula and the Black Sea.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russia’s official Tass news agency that kyiv was “resisting” Moscow’s invasion but could not “change the current course of events.”

In Ukraine, a woman was killed and a 6-year-old girl among at least two others injured in two Russian attacks on the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, local officials said Sunday.

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Fishermen fish on the Neva River as smoke rises above the city following an air attack on the St. Petersburg oil terminal October 18, 2026, amid the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

AFP via Getty Images


These strikes come as tensions between Ukraine and Washington intensify. President Trump recently criticized his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and kyiv’s attacks on Russian oil infrastructure.

At the same time, uncertainty remains over the prospect of new US sanctions against Moscow.

Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Zelenskyy said he was renouncing sanctions against Russia would strengthen Putin’s war effort. He also said that intelligence sharing between the United States and Ukraine had resumed after being “stalled for some time.”

Mr. Trump told reporters Saturday evening that they did not know what his decision would be on new sanctions against Russia, despite signing an executive order Friday evening abandoning the planned restrictions, citing American national interests.

Zelensky said that while he trusted Mr. Trump, siding with Moscow would be a tragedy and a “historic mistake” for Washington.

“People want to forget what is happening. But we cannot give this possibility to forget, or to change reality, or to change the truth,” Zelensky said. “We cannot compare ourselves to Putin. He is an aggressor. He occupied us. He killed adults and children, his soldiers. He is a terrorist. And that is why I hope that President Trump will be very clear with this position.”

Later Sunday, Zelensky said on social media that he had spoken with U.S. presidential envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner about the results of the Oct. 9 meeting between U.S. and Ukrainian negotiating teams in Miami, as well as “next diplomatic steps.”

Power outage amid Russian-Ukrainian war in Lviv

People walk on dark streets during a power outage amid the Russian-Ukrainian war and falling temperatures in Lviv, Ukraine, October 17, 2026.

Olena Znak/Anadolu via Getty Images


He also accused Moscow of breaking Mr Trump’s ‘energy ceasefire’” 76 times and warned that Russia planned to deprive Ukrainians of heat and electricity before winter.

The Ukrainian government initially said it respected the ceasefire.

Energy facilities in four Ukrainian regions were destroyed overnight, leaving tens of thousands of families without power, he said, accusing Russia of trying to cause a blackout.

“America must understand that Russia takes no reciprocal action in response to sanctions relief or agreements. Rather, it views every signal of money-making opportunity as proof that its war gamble is paying off and that it can continue to fight,” he wrote.

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