Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that an oil terminal and a naval base near the Russian city of Saint Petersburg were struck in an attack by long-range drones on Friday, July 3.
"Last night, our Ukrainian long-range sanctions against Russia over this war reached targets near Saint Petersburg," Mr Zelenskyy said on Saturday, July 4, via a social media post that also included video footage of smoke rising from an unidentified distant target. "Ukraine's Defense Forces struck port oil infrastructure that generates revenue for Russia's war, and there were also successful strikes on [the naval base at] Kronstadt – an important military target."
Mr Zelenskyy added that the distance of the targets from Ukraine's state border is more than 850 kilometres.
Russian authorities confirmed that Friday's attack on the oil terminal in Saint Petersburg's Kirovsky district had indeed occurred and that no injuries or deaths have been reported.
Saint Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov said that drones had struck the terminal but that the "technical consequences" caused by the attack have since been resolved.
The governor added that Russian air defences around the city were active during the attack and successfully shot down 72 drones.