Ukrainian drone strike hits St. Petersburg oil terminal on opening day of SPIEF

Ukraine launched a major drone attack on the St. Petersburg region on 3 June, damaging an oil terminal and infrastructure in Kronstadt. Leningrad Oblast Governor Alexander Drozdenko reported that 59 Ukrainian drones were shot down over the region. The attack coincided with the opening day of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Ukraine conducted a large-scale drone attack on the St. Petersburg region on 3 June 2025, which resulted in injuries to multiple people — the exact number has not been disclosed. During the attack, an oil terminal and infrastructure facilities in Kronstadt, located on an island in the Gulf of Finland near St. Petersburg, were struck.

Governor: 59 drones shot down

Alexander Drozdenko, Governor of Leningrad Oblast, reported that the military shot down 59 Ukrainian drones over the region. Despite this extensive effort to repel the attack, multiple targets were nevertheless struck, causing damage to energy infrastructure and triggering a fire at the oil terminal.

The attack occurred at the precise moment when the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) — one of Russia's highest-profile economic events, drawing business leaders and government officials from around the world — was being opened in St. Petersburg. A reporter from the independent news cooperative Bereg visited the affected districts following the strike and described a situation where residents attempted to go about their daily lives even as smoke from the burning oil terminal rose on the horizon.

Life goes on

The situation in the affected areas was contradictory: summer weather and a calm routine contrasted with the burning terminal and the consequences of the drone attack. Local residents attempted to downplay the situation and continue with their everyday lives, yet the signs of the attack were visible to the eye.

Ukraine has repeatedly intensified the frequency of drone attacks on Russian territory in recent months, including against Moscow and the St. Petersburg region. According to analysts, such attacks are primarily aimed at energy infrastructure and logistics, with the goal of damaging Russia's war economy.